Flu war rages on

Employers count cost

GEELONG cannot seem to shake the flu with 76 people, including 19 children, admitted to Barwon Health in the past three weeks.

There have been more than 10,000 confirmed cases of influenza across Victoria as the season hits “near-record levels”, according to the Health and Human Services Department.

Barwon Health infectious diseases director Eugene Athan said both the young and the old had been admitted with flu-like symptoms.

“There have been serious complications with flu patients who also have pneumonia or have been pregnant, requiring treatment in our intensive care unit,” Professor Athan said.

There have been nine cases of admissions with flu-like symptoms requiring treatment in Barwon Health’s intensive care unit.

Prof Athan said cases of the flu were due to drop off in the coming weeks.

The national flu epidemic has also hit employers hard, costing $47.8 million of lost productivity this month.

Public records show one in 217 Australians — or 113,392 cases — have had the flu up until yesterday, the worst outbreak since public records began. In July there were 88,357 cases, compared with 9045 in July last year.

Victoria chief health officer Charles Guest urged people to look after their health and take preventative action to stop the spread of the flu.

“Anyone sick with the flu should avoid visiting loved ones in aged care or in hospital, as it can spread quickly and be very serious for people most at risk such as the elderly,” he said. “The most common symptoms of the flu are sudden high fever, body aches, and feeling very weak.”

Professor Guest said in an emergency patients should call 000.