[ad_1]
The flu killed 66 people in Queensland in the first half of 2019, accounting for 65% more deaths than for the whole of 2018.
A record 28,896 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza have been diagnosed in the state since the beginning of the year.
Watch the video above of Mia's six-year-old fight against the deadly flu virus
This figure is more than three times higher than the record flu season in 2017.
Queensland's health minister, Steven Miles, said the 2019 rates were also five times higher than the average number of influenza cases in the state of the last five years.
"Too many Queenslanders are already dead, the season has not yet reached its end point, so we have to do more," Miles said.
Related:
"Throughout the year, we have emphasized the need for Queenslanders to take precautions, including being vaccinated against the flu, but we are also working hard in our hospitals to protect the public.
More funding
Miles said the state government was spending an additional $ 1.95 million to combat the record flu epidemic.
It will be used to fund another blood culture badysis instrument at Pathology Queensland, to perform genomic sequencing to characterize influenza strains and to increase the number of nurses available to respond to 13HEALTH calls in times of point.
Of those diagnosed across Queensland in 2019 to date, more than 25,000 have contracted influenza A.
About 1680 of these cases required hospitalization, of which 165 required intensive care treatment.
Find more news from Queensland here
[ad_2]
Source link