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The hunter has had the worst start of the influenza season in at least a decade. The number of confirmed cases compared to last year has increased by 300%. Dr. David Durrheim, a public health physician at Hunter New England Health, said there had been "a significant increase in the first cases of seasonal flu". "Obviously, general practitioners do not confirm [flu numbers] Dr. Durrheim said, "So it's really the tip of the iceberg." In the Hunter-New England area, there were 976 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases during the year. This corresponds to 244 the previous year. In the Newcastle metropolitan area, which covers Newcastle, Macquarie Lake and Port Stephens, there had been 541 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases since the beginning of the year, compared with 134 the previous year. Dr. Durrheim is at the forefront of the influenza season in August and early September "We have certainly already seen an already intense influenza activity, which prolongs the flu of the end of the summer that NSW has experienced this year." is very difficult to predict what will happen in the rest of the season. "He added that theories had been raised about the reasons for the increase in the number of cases. Travelers report the influenza virus from the "The northern hemisphere during flights and cruises." And the flu virus is mutating all the time, "he said." But the question is, why did it spread if effectively? One of the theories is that because the summer was so hot, people were spending more time indoors in air-conditioned environments. "The dry, cold air of an air-conditioned environment, though it's not the only way to cool. is wonderful in terms of reducing problems such as heat stress, it actually promotes the survival of the flu virus. "So, if the virus enters this environment, the virus can infiltrate into the respiratory tract people. This may have been a contributing factor. "The number of deaths from influenza in Hunter was not available, and in Nova Scotia, 43 people died of the virus during the year. 10 in May, 11 in April, 3 in March, 10 in February and 9 in January, "he said." Thirty-six of these deaths occurred among people aged 65 and over. Seven of them are between the ages of 20 and 64. "These figures include deaths confirmed as flu, they do not include deaths with complications." Especially in the elderly, we have complications from Bacterial pneumonia in those who contract the flu, "he said." This makes the elderly and the very old very vulnerable to pneumonia. "It is often a deadly disease in very old people. Also in very young infants are also particularly vulnerable to the flu. "He stated that the" recent start "of the flu season had been" worse "in" East of Australia. "Laboratory tests have improved over the past decade compared to previous tests, so we should probably look at the last decade, and since then it's probably the biggest start to the influenza season we've seen." "We have known." It's a good incentive for everyone to get vaccinated if they want to reduce their risk. "It was especially important that high-risk groups be vaccinated. This included people aged 65 and over and children under 5 years old. This included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as well as people with chronic heart, respiratory or immune disorders.
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The hunter has had the worst start of the influenza season in at least a decade.
The number of confirmed cases compared to last year has increased by 300%.
Dr. David Durrheim, a public health physician at Hunter New England Health, said there had been "a significant increase in the first cases of seasonal flu".
"Obviously, general practitioners do not confirm [flu numbers] or people do not show up for their GP, "said Dr. Durrheim.
"So, it's really the tip of the iceberg."
In the Hunter-New England area, there have been 976 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases since the beginning of the year. This compared to 244 the year before.
In the Newcastle metropolitan area, which includes Newcastle, Macquarie Lake and Port Stephens, there had been 541 influenza cases confirmed in the laboratory since the beginning of the year. This compared to 134 the previous year.
"The peak of the influenza season is usually in August and early September," said Dr. Durrheim.
"We have certainly already seen an already significant influenza activity, which is in line with the end of summer flu that NSW has experienced this year.
"It's very difficult to predict what will happen in the rest of the season."
He added that theories had been raised about the reasons for the increase in the number of cases.
Travelers report the influenza virus of the northern hemisphere during flights and cruises.
"And the flu virus is mutating all the time," he said.
"But the question is, why did it spread so effectively?" One of the theories is that because the summer was so hot, people spent more time indoors in air-conditioned environments.
"The cool, dry air of an air-conditioned environment, while wonderful to reduce problems such as heat stress, promotes the survival of the flu virus.
"So, if the virus enters this environment, the virus can infiltrate into the airways of people.This may have been a contributing factor."
The number of deaths from influenza at Hunter was not available.
In Nova Scotia, 43 people died of the virus during the year.
"There were 10 in May, 11 in April, 3 in March, 10 in February and 9 in January," he said.
"Thirty-six of these deaths occurred in people aged 65 and over, seven of whom are between the ages of 20 and 64."
These figures include deaths confirmed as flu. They do not include deaths with complications.
"Especially in the elderly, we have complications of bacterial pneumonia in those who contract the flu," he said.
"This makes the elderly and the very old very vulnerable to pneumonia.
"It's often a life-threatening disease in very old people, as well as very young people, and infants are also particularly vulnerable to the flu."
He added that the "recent season" had been the worst flu season start in East Australia.
"The lab tests have improved over the last decade compared to previous tests, so we should probably look into the last decade, since then it's definitely the biggest flu start we've had. known.
"It's a good incentive for everyone to get vaccinated if they want to reduce their risk."
It was particularly important that high-risk groups be vaccinated. This included 65 years and over and children under 5 years old.
It also included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as well as all those suffering from chronic heart, respiratory or immune diseases.
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