August 29, 2017
Queensland Health believes the flu season may have peaked, with fewer notifications during the past week.
However, doctors are still urging people to take active steps to help reduce the risk of influenza.
“This week there has been 4554 new notified cases of influenza throughout Queensland, which brings the total to 29,996 this year to date,” QH Medical Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Heidi Carroll said.
“This time last week we reported an increase of 4749 new cases.
“The annual figure has already overtaken recent years with 23,285 notified cases for the entire year in 2016 and 28,059 in 2015.
“So far this year, we’ve seen 3225 public hospital admissions across the State for influenza, and 353 of those required intensive care.”
Dr Carroll said the best defence against the flu was to get vaccinated but there were also practical steps that people could take to reduce the likelihood of catching or spreading the disease.
“Steps such as staying at home when sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, washing hands, seeing a GP or calling a nurse for free on 13 HEALTH,” she said.
