Queensland has been whacked by a sudden and “alarming” surge in influenza circumstances – the quantity now surpassing these recognized with Covid-19 in hospitals for the primary time this yr.
Well being authorities confirmed letters have been being pushed out to colleges and vaccine suppliers throughout the state urging individuals to get vaccinated in a bid to fight the rising numbers.
Final week, there have been 1521 confirmed circumstances of flu in school-aged kids in Queensland.
There have been one other 630 circumstances in preschool-aged kids and 644 circumstances in Queenslanders aged over 65.
Chief well being officer Catherine McDougall mentioned there have been extra sufferers within the state’s hospitals with influenza than Covid-19 for the primary time this yr.
Greater than 80 per cent of hospital admissions for flu throughout all age teams have been sufferers who had not been vaccinated, she mentioned.
Dr McDougall mentioned letters urging individuals to get vaccinated have been being pushed out to colleges and to vaccine service suppliers urging individuals it was not too late to get vaccinated.
The inflow within the northern state’s flu circumstances is along with a sudden outbreak of the damaging legionnaires’ illness in Victoria that has been forecast to extend over the approaching days.
Victoria recorded 22 circumstances of legionnaires’ illness over the previous three days, along with one other six suspected circumstances.
Many of the circumstances are in adults aged over 40, with lots of them requiring hospitalisation and intensive look after extreme pneumonia.
The supply of the outbreak has not been decided.
Victoria’s chief well being officer Clare Looker mentioned case numbers have been anticipated to “head north” after extra circumstances introduced to hospitals since Friday.
“Legionnaires’ is a nasty kind of pneumonia,” Dr Looker advised ABC Radio on Tuesday.
“Individuals want to know if they’ve visited or stay wherever in metropolitan Melbourne and so they develop signs of legionnaires’ illness … to hunt medical consideration.”
The illness is unfold by way of effective droplets of water containing legionella micro organism.
Signs can develop as much as 10 days after publicity to the micro organism, which is present in potting combine and soils and sometimes multiplies in bagged potting combine, mulch and different merchandise.
Legionnaires’ illness can’t be unfold from person-to-person or by consuming contaminated water.
Queensland has not recorded any circumstances of the illness regardless of the outbreak in Victoria.
