While Spring is definitely in the air, so is influenza. 

NSW Health has sent out a precautionary warning to people that despite Winter being over, we still need to be flu-wise.

NSW Health’s director of communicable disease, Dr Vicky Sheppeard said latest figures show children aged five to nine years have been particularly affected, with a rise in influenza B virus cases.

“The extended period of influenza activity in 2019 has seen high numbers of presentations to hospital emergency departments, with over 245,000 presentations to NSW emergency departments for respiratory conditions this year, compared to 198,000 to this time in 2018 and 222,000 in 2017,” Dr Sheppeard said. 

“Even though spring is around the corner, we urge people not to be complacent, particularly parents of young children, and to take simple hygiene precautions to avoid becoming an influenza statistic.”

The latest weekly Influenza Surveillance Report shows 5549 flu cases across NSW at the end of August, down from 5800 notifications the previous week but taking the yearly total to 90,409.

Unusually high influenza activity over summer and the early start to the winter flu season have contributed to high numbers of notifications this year.

There have been 20 additional deaths reported at the end of August in people aged over 50 years, bringing the annual total to 188 deaths.

With the upswing in flu cases, NSW Health is reminding people to consider all available options such as their local GP, medical centre or pharmacy if their illness is not an emergency.

“We have seen an increase in people presenting to our already very busy emergency departments because of flu, but most have not been severe cases and did not require hospital admission.”

“To stop the spread of flu, stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands regularly and cover coughs and sneezes. And as strange as it sounds, it’s still not too late to vaccinate,” Dr Sheppeard said.

More than 2.5 million doses of Government-funded flu vaccines have been distributed across NSW, including over 214,000 doses for children six months to three years, and 1.18 million doses for people 65 years and over. Eligible people who have not yet had their shot can still get it for free.

People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, Aboriginal people and people with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of flu are all eligible under the National Immunisation Program. The free state-funded vaccine is available to all children aged six months to five years.