Cases of whooping cough, the flu and gastro have surged, with the spike in illness hitting children hard and adding "unprecedented" pressure on some hospitals. or signup to continue reading The winter lurgy peak is still ahead of northern parts of Australia popular with holiday-makers, prompting a leading general practitioner to urge anyone who hasn't had a jab to roll up their sleeve. More than 170,000 influenza cases have been confirmed so far in 2024, with 29 per cent of them in children under nine years of age.
Infections in 2024 are already 27 per cent higher than the first six months of 2023. Those figures don't give a complete picture as many people do not get tested, according to Royal College of General Practitioners rural chair Michael Clements, who says cases are likely to climb as the winter virus peak hits warmer areas in August or September. "We certainly are concerned that this is going to continue to increase and potentially overwhelm the hospital systems," the Townsville GP told AAP.
His comments echo NSW Health Minister Ryan Park, who attributed "unprecedented" demand on emergency departments in his state to a 30 per cent jump in flu cases, combined with fewer GPs working in the community. Victoria's health department warns vaccine coverage of influenza remains "low" in all age groups including children, despite a sixfold increase in emergency department presentations due to the flu from April to June. Dr Clements said there's likely no single cause of the j.
