Doctors warn on ‘flurona’ danger

HEALTH authorities are urging parents to book young children in for flu shots as Queensland braces for a triple surge of influenza, Covid and the common cold.

In just one week, cases have skyrocketed by 130 per cent from 1848 to 4282, while infection rates among children pile up as influenza and Covid team up to create a dual infection dubbed “flurona”.

More than 180 residents in Queensland have been co-infected with the viruses since January, with 450 people admitted to hospital for the condition in April.

More than 30 people have been placed in intensive care.

Almost half of Queenslanders aged between 10 and 29 have been recorded carrying both viruses at once.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland chair Dr Bruce Willett said the flu could be fatal for children.

“We can’t be complacent and think that just because coronavirus has not been hard on kids that the dual infection won’t come with serious health problems,” he said.

“Flurona is the unknown, but what we do know is that the flu vaccine is not free for children over five and that can be a deterrent to getting a protection jab.”

The community’s low immunity is the result of closed international borders and the country’s low influenza vaccination rate, with many young children having next to no immunity against the virus.

Earlier this month, just 3 per cent of children under five had been vaccinated against the flu.

Data reveals that teenagers and people in their 20s are the driving forces behind increasing numbers.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr John Gerrard, has not made flu shots mandatory for people who work or visit aged care facilities but they must be vaccinated against Covid.

On Wednesday, Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said she would follow the chief health officer’s direction on the issue.

Ms D’Ath said she was “concerned” about the state’s earlier-than-expected flu season and planned to write to the Commonwealth to ask for free flu vaccines.

“We are probably going to be experiencing our worst flu season that we have seen in almost a decade and it’s coming at us quickly,” she said.

Queensland Health’s acting chief operating officer, David Rosengren, said the state was experiencing “the dominant strain of influenza” commonly known as influenza A.

“Influenza A is a serious illness,” he said.

“It has serious impacts on our young and on our older and more frail people, particularly those with chronic disease.

“I saw a 19-year-old gent in the emergency department last Thursday night with influenza A who described never having felt so bad in his entire life.

“If you don’t want to feel so bad in your entire life, then my challenge is to go out and get your flu vaccine. We know it works.”

Australians aged 65 and above, First Nations people, pregnant women, and those with underlying health conditions are eligible for a free vaccine.