Last month, nearly 1/4 of all new state patients were under the age of 9, with newborns and young children at the highest risk of infection. (photo by the Daily Telegraph)
According to the Daily Telegraph, four different influenza viruses are sweeping Sydney and the new state, and many babies and children are facing an unprecedented pandemic. The flu epidemic this week was the worst in history, with more than 8200 people attending hospital emergency departments for respiratory illness.
Most influenza outbreaks are caused by a single influenza virus. But this year, people in the new state face the threat of four viruses, the A-H3N2 influenza virus, the A-H1N1 influenza virus, the Yamagata B influenza virus and the Victoria B influenza virus.
It is understood that the number of people infected with influenza in the new state this year is more than double that of the same period last year. The flu season began at the beginning of this year, and the exact cause of the outbreak is not yet known, but it has yet to reach its peak. According to the federal goverment-funded flu tracking program, the flu outbreak areas include Kuji (Coogee), Bargola (Balgowlah), (Hornsby), Blue Valley (Lane Cove) and Marickville District (Marrickville), Blue Mountain (Blue Mountains), Newcastle (Newcastle), Tamworth (Tamworth) and Bathurst (Bathurst).
In the Nippian-Blue Mountain (Nepean-Blue Mountains) area, the number of flu patients in hospitals rose between 108 percent and 266 percent over the same period last year. In July alone, there were more than 12700 serious cases across the state, up from 19818 this year, according to the latest figures released on Friday.
Last month, nearly 1/4 of all new state patients were under the age of 9, with newborns and young children at the highest risk. Children under the age of 4 were particularly vulnerable to H1N1 A (also known as swine flu) and H3n2. Another 49 nursing home residents died during the flu season and 141 others were hospitalized because of the severity of the illness.
Older people are usually highly defensive against swine flu, because similar viruses appeared in new states in the 1950s, so the immune system is familiar with the virus, but they are vulnerable to other flu viruses.
Frank (Brad Frankum), president of the new state division of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said the swine flu outbreak in 2009 killed 213 Australians, but doctors are now "busier" than at the time.
"Winter has another month, and it`s worrisome that the flu season tends to last in spring." Said Frankham.
