Another Death in Aust in Major Flu Outbreak
More than 137,500 cases of flu have been reported so far this year including a record breaking 30,000 cases last month
Amother of two has become the latest fatality from influenza during the worst flu season Australia has seen in years. Jennifer Thew, from Gungahlin in the ACT, reportedly died over the weekend from acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Ms Thew, who worked as a medical receptionist in Canberra, had been vaccinated against the flu. It is understood her seven-year-old daughter had also been unwell with the virus.
Ms Thew is another tragic death in what’s been dubbed Australia’s worst flu outbreak in a decade, with experts urging people to have a flu vaccine now to prevent further spread of the disease.
More than 137,500 cases of flu have been reported so far this year including a record breaking 30,000 cases last month. That’s more than double the 53,159 cases confirmed by this time last year and more than the total 83,092 cases confirmed by the end of the flu season in 2016, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“I’m confident this is not just the biggest on record but the largest flu outbreak we’ve seen for some time,” Professor Paul VanBuynder the Chairman of the Immunisation Coalition said.
Influenza A (H3N2) is the flu subtype that’s wreaking havoc, especially in nursing homes. It comes as an eighth elderly resident died at a regional Victorian nursing home today following an outbreak of influenza A, which affected a further 123 residents and staff.
Six elderly men and women also died from influenza A last month at an aged care facility in Tasmania. NSW has been hit the hardest with almost 70,000 cases as at September 1, as well as Queensland suffering from 35,360 cases.
Other victims believed to have died from the virus:
Sarah Hawthorn, 33, from Cobram in country Victoria, is fighting for her life in a Melbourne hospital after contracting the flu in the later stages of her pregnancy.
Earlier this month, a 30-year-old bottle shop worker died suddenly due to complications from the flu.
Ben Ihlow was meant to spend Father’s Day with his 10-month-old son, Andrew, and wife Samantha on Sunday, but died after complaining of “a bug” just six days prior.
An eight-year-old girl lost her life to the virus earlier this month, after contracting the flu.
Rosie Anderson died in the Angliss Hospital at Upper Ferntree Gully in Melbourne’s outer east on Friday September 15.
The cases have more than doubled the 53,159 cases confirmed by this time last year and more than the total 83,092 cases confirmed by the end of the flu season in 2016, according to the Daily Telegraph.