August 24, 2017
Queensland’s current flu season is one of the biggest on record, with more than one-sixth of this year’s total – an extra 4749 cases – reported in the past week.
The new cases bring the state’s total to 24,605 so far this year.
Health Minister Cameron Dick said he wanted to remind people that taking simple, sensible precautions could still make a difference.
“We are seeing a big impact in our emergency departments,” Mr Dick said.
“There are practical steps we can all take to stop catching or spreading the flu,” Mr Dick said
The five key flu fighting strategies health officials wanted the public to adopt were:
- Get vaccinated
- Consider seeing a GP or calling a nurse for free on 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) instead of going to an emergency department
- Wash your hands
- Stay home if you’re sick
- Cover your cough with a tissue or your arm
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the Flu Five could make a big difference.
“The best defence against the flu is to get a vaccination,” Dr Young said.
“The current vaccine provides protection against four strains of the flu that Queenslanders are experiencing this year.
“In addition to getting vaccinated, there are practical steps we can all take to avoid catching the flu or to limit its spread, and it can be as simple as staying at home when sick.”
Dr Young said other easy steps include using proper cough and sneeze etiquette, which means cough into a tissue or your arm if you don’t have tissues handy, and throw used tissues away immediately.
“Also make sure you wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water, or use hand gel frequently, when in potential contact with the flu virus.”
Dr Young said the flu vaccine was safe for anyone over the age of six months, and this included pregnant women, with the vaccine protecting both mother and child from the effects of an influenza infection.
“Influenza can be deadly for some people in high-risk categories, so it’s crucial we all play our part to help stop it spreading and reduce its effects on the community,” she said.
Latest influenza numbers:
- So far this year, there have been 24,605 flu notifications
- About 75 per cent (18,493) of notifications were typed as influenza A and the remaining 25 per cent (6,112) were influenza B
- There have been 2641 public hospital admissions across the state for influenza, and 281 of those required intensive care, including 31 new admissions to ICU during the recent week.
- There were 4,749 new confirmed flu cases in the latest reporting week
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Queenslanders eligible for the government-funded influenza vaccine can access it from their doctor or immunisation provider. Those eligible for the funded vaccine are:
- Pregnant women during any stage of pregnancy
- Persons 65 years of age or older
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children aged 6 months to 5 years
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 15 years of age or older
- People six months of age or older who have certain medical conditions which increase the risk of influenza disease complications
All other Queenslanders can obtain the influenza vaccination from their doctor, immunisation provider or some community pharmacies.
