Posted on 08/07/2007 4:17:12 PM PDT by Palladin
SICK Queenslanders are being urged to stay home and consider wearing face masks against this year's strain of virulent flu. A five-year-old who died yesterday in Victoria was believed to be the sixth child killed by the virus in the past two weeks.
In Queensland, there have been 1400 confirmed flu cases, three times as many as normal for this time of year. With the Ekka due to open in Brisbane tomorrow – a gathering of 500,000 people over 10 days – Queensland's Chief Health Officer, Jeanette Young, has urged those not vaccinated to consider staying away.
People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma should particularly avoid crowds, she said. And GPs want patients who may have the flu to stay out of their waiting rooms to avoid the risk of infecting others. Queensland Health will provide 127,000 packs of hand wipes and 20,000 bottles of antiseptic hand gel at the Ekka to try to stop the virus spreading.
The epidemic has overwhelmed public hospitals in the state's southeast, forcing some elective surgery to be suspended to free up beds. A four-year-old Queensland boy died last week in hospital from flu.
Tests are yet to confirm the flu as a cause in the death of the Victorian boy yesterday and another child in Western Australia last week.
In southeast Queensland, an increase in cases of the norovirus – a gastrointestinal virus with symptoms similar to flu combined with diarrhoea and vomiting – has put further pressure on the health system. The Toowoomba Hospital, which has been overwhelmed by patients and staff falling ill to both viruses, has provided extra handwashing facilities to cut down on visitors bringing more disease in.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
This flu strain hits small children very hard.
Good point....Thanks for the post....
No problem.
I hope all those at risk will get their flu shots early this year.
Prayers for the children and their families. God, help them to find strength now.
Amen!
This is not looking good for our next flu season. It makes me especially nervous when it hits the little ones.
I have 3 little ones... scary stuff
I just hope our public health services provide enough vaccine for all the children and the elderly who will need it in October/November.
I guess “Free” health care is worth exactly what you pay for it.
My prayers to the afflicted.
Good point about socialized medicine.
He had to take a taxi. I imagine the taxi picked him up because he knew he was going to get money, while the ambulance guys had no incentive to treat a wounded man if they might get urine on them.
Unbelievable!
Michael Moore, take note!
Will our vaccine in the US include this particular strain?
I wish I knew. There doesn’t seem to be uch news circulating about this year’s vaccine, and which strains it will cover.
For the sake of the little kids, I hope it will cover this Australian strain.
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