Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=77&ContentID=33711

Health experts have confirmed that three young Perth children died last week from the rare combined effects of the flu and a common bacterial infection ? but refuse to say how many others are in hospital with the influenza strain which they warned parents about on Friday.

The children were all aged under five and were infected with the secondary bacteria known as gram positive coccus after initially having influenza A strain.

The deadly combination progressed quickly and all died within 24 hours.

Princess Margaret Hospital head Dr Robyn Lawrence said the number of children admitted with influenza was not available. ?It?s a normal pattern of disease and we don?t monitor it on a regular basis,? she said.

There was no jump in the number of admitted flu cases and the Health Department said no children had been admitted with the serious combined illness since Friday.

While the department?s director of communicable disease control Paul Van Buynder would not say if the three children had pneumonia, in many cases the bacteria ? a form of streptococcal infection ? can develop into the condition.

?Most of the children who have a secondary bacterial infection will develop a full blown pneumonia and that will be part of the cause of the tragic consequences,? he said.

?It is not an unusual bacteria but it is relatively unusual for us to see both influenza A and secondary consequences. Most years, despite the circulation of both the virus and the bacteria, we see no children who have this cause of illness.?

Potential links between the three deaths were investigated but believed to be coincidental.

Dr Van Buynder said advice to parents was the same as that issued on Friday ? to seek medical advice if children had a fever above 38C, were lethargic and had a cough.

Parents whose children had simple common colds were asked not to seek medical attention.

Australian Medical Association State vice-president Richard Choong said children are more susceptible to a streptococcal infection, which can be in the air at any time, when their immune systems were low due to having influenza A. ?Your immune system is battling to treat this viral infection and this means it?s unable to treat a bacterial infection. In the absence of a good defence mechanism the infection?s going to run riot,? he said.

PMH continued to be busy yesterday with sick children waiting up to three hours to be seen.

Late yesterday, it had seen 200 children during the day and about 320 were presented to the emergency department on Saturday.

Anne Bartlett was one worried parent. She took sick two-year-old son Zac to the hospital yesterday morning and was relieved to learn he only had a cold. She wanted peace of mind because she was worried her 18-month-old son JJ could become infected.

The Health Direct line was also busy with almost 1600 calls on Saturday and more than 1000 calls by late yesterday.

For advice on a child?s illness, call Health Direct on 1800 020 080.

[Richard McC]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=33711

Health experts have confirmed that three young Perth children died last week from the rare combined effects of the flu and a common bacterial infection ? but refuse to say how many others are in hospital with the influenza strain which they warned parents about on Friday.

The children were all aged under five and were infected with the secondary bacteria known as gram positive coccus after initially having influenza A strain.

The deadly combination progressed quickly and all died within 24 hours.

<snip>

While the department?s director of communicable disease control Paul Van Buynder would not say if the three children had pneumonia, in many cases the bacteria ? a form of streptococcal infection ? can develop into the condition.

?Most of the children who have a secondary bacterial infection will develop a full blown pneumonia and that will be part of the cause of the tragic consequences,? he said.

?It is not an unusual bacteria but it is relatively unusual for us to see both influenza A and secondary consequences. Most years, despite the circulation of both the virus and the bacteria, we see no children who have this cause of illness.?

<snip>.

I am thinking that this is not reassuring. H3N2 + strep = death in 24 hours? In 3 unconnected cases in a single week?

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

WA searches for answers to child death cluster


Authorities in Western Australia have consulted health experts as they search for answers to a cluster of child deaths in Perth.

A two-year-old boy yesterday became the fourth toddler to die after contracting an infection caused by the streptococcal bacteria.

Unlike the other three youngsters, who died earlier this month, the latest victim did not have influenza.

The only warning sign he showed was a steadily worsening fever.

David Smith from government pathology service PathWest says it is a concern.

"As much as we can do for treating bacterial infections, we do still have some which can cause very rapid illnesses and it's very difficult to intervene," he said.

A national hook-up of health experts was held today to discuss the situation, however the WA Health Department's Paul Van Buynder says the reason for the cluster of deaths remains a mystery.

"It is very uncommon for us to have four children of this age group to have an infectious disease and to pass away in such a short period of time," he said.

Dr Van Buynder says samples of the bacteria have been sent to specialist testing facilities interstate.

"But at this point, it's unclear what's causing the deaths in these children," he said.

Parents are being advised to seek medical help if their children become listless or develop a fever.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/19/1983200.htm

[gsgs]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

what strain is it ? does the vaccine match ?
will we get it next winter in the northern hemisphere too ?

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

Child flu deaths to remain a mystery
25th July 2007, 7:00 WST

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=77&ContentID=35434

WA health officials yesterday conceded they may never find out why four young Perth children in three weeks died within 24 hours of contracting a mystery illness.

Despite enlisting the help of national and international experts, the WA Health Department has been unable to find a bacterium common to all four cases.

Aged between two and four, the children had a combination of a virus and streptococcal infection but no single strain has been found in all.

The department’s director of communicable disease control, Paul Van Buynder, said the cluster was exceedingly rare, with only one similar case last year.

This involved a Perth child dying at home from pneumococcal disease, an infection found in two of the four children who recently died. The other children had a different streptococcal infection called streptococcal infection group B.

“At this point we are unable to put a specific bacterial diagnosis on the cluster and it is quite possible that this has been an unfortunate confluence of cases in time,” Dr Van Buynder said.

“It is now looking exceedingly unlikely that the combined work of disease control experts across Australia and the collaboration of colleagues internationally will enable us to find a single bacterial cause of these deaths,” he said.

A teleconference between Australian and US experts on Monday night revealed that almost 100 children died across the US from bacterial infections in 2003 during a particularly bad flu season.

But Dr Van Buynder said this did not help explain the cluster because many of those who died had preexisting medical conditions, which the Perth children did not

He said the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, one of the most knowledgeable organisations in the world on such infections, could not provide any answers.

“They weren’t able to identify further testing that we should have done and they weren’t able to identify deficits in the processes that we had in place. Disappointingly they didn’t have a suggestion that we haven’t already covered,” he said.

The department does not believe any further testing will uncover a common bacterial strain and will now conduct medium term research into streptococcal infections.

This will include studies on children under five looking at how many carry the infection without showing symptoms.

Dr Van Buynder said he was cautiously reassured there had been only one death in the past two weeks and hoped it was the end of the cluster. But advice to parents remained the same, which was not to panic if a child has a cold but to seek medical attention if they have a cough, fever or are lethargic.

“There are no medical people in Perth who would believe that you are overreacting by getting your child checked out,” Dr Van Buynder said. For advice, call Health Direct on 1800 020 080.

DEBBIE GUEST

[hawkeye]

Re: Australia: 3 children die from severe form of flu

Perhaps this is a good threshold number to use?

Child flu deaths to remain a mystery
A teleconference between Australian and US experts on Monday night revealed that almost 100 children died across the US from bacterial infections in 2003 during a particularly bad flu season.

[Niko]

Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

<headline>Ex-soldier, 37, dies with flu symptoms</headline>

<headline></headline><!--articleTools Top--> <date>August 10, 2007 - 11:05AM</date>


A former soldier and father of three has died after developing influenza-like symptoms.

Glen Kindness, 37, of Narangba, north of Brisbane, died less than three hours after he was taken to Blackwater Hospital in central Queensland on Tuesday.

He was working as a boilermaker at Blackwater's Curragh mine.

Queensland Health was unable to confirm the death resulted from influenza, but said there would be a coronial inquiry.

His wife, Kathleen, said she understood he had died of pneumonia and septicaemia, which came on top of the 'flu.

"He had multiple organ failure," she told ABC radio.

But she said the death came as a surprise as her husband was very fit.
"He was extremely fit, you know, he always looked after himself. Obviously, with the army background, fitness is a big part of your life, basically," she said.

Five Australian children have died from 'flu complications, including a four-year-old Queensland boy last week.

Ms Kindness said she had not yet seen the autopsy report.

She described her husband as a "fit, virile 37-year-old man".

"He had such a long life to live," she said.

He had visited his family on July 29 and had what she described as a "cough and the sniffles".

"He went back to work on the Tuesday night and worked for three nights and finished on the Friday morning," she said.

He told her he was not feeling well and would go to the doctor on Saturday.

She said the doctor had said that Glen appeared to have the same sort of 'flu-like symptoms as many other patients, and advised him to get some rest - which he did.

But, Ms Kindness said, her husband phoned her to say his condition was getting worse.

"He was saying how he's weak and finding it really hard to get up and go to get meals," she said.

"So, basically, he had no energy to eat or drink or anything."

She said he feared taking medication as the mine had a policy of drug-testing its workers.

"They do lots of drug tests and he was worried about that side," she said.

"By the time he got into Codral (cold tablets) which was Monday he pretty much started to decline. He sounded much worse on the Monday afternoon, he was quite breathless," Ms Kindness said.

"I hate myself for not picking up on this sooner on the phone ... I just thought he was breathless from talking to me and I said to get some rest and he said he was going to go to the doctor the next morning."

When he went to breakfast in the mining accommodation mess the next morning, his colleagues noticed his poor condition and called an ambulance.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/exsoldier-37-dies-with-flu-symptoms/2007/08/10/1186530578837.html#

[Niko]

Re: Australia flu deaths

<headline>Strain of flu killed soldier</headline>

<byline>Georgina Robinson and AAP</byline> | <date>August 10, 2007 - 7:41AM

</date>
<!--articleDetails--> <bod> </bod>Queensland Health has confirmed that a former soldier and father of three died after developing the same strain of `flu that killed a four-year-old boy in Brisbane last week.

Glen Kindness, 37, of Narangba, north of Brisbane, died less than three hours after he was taken to Blackwater Hospital in central Queensland on Tuesday. He was working as a boilermaker at Blackwater's Curragh mine.

Queensland Health was unable to confirm the death directly resulted from influenza and said there would be a coronial inquiry.

However, an agency spokesperson said tests had confirmed that he had, at some point, been suffering from influenza A, a virulent strain of the virus.
Mr Kindness's wife, Kathleen, said she understood he had died of pneumonia and septicaemia, which came on top of the `flu.

"He had multiple organ failure,"she told ABC Radio.

more here: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/arti...30569702.html#

[Niko]

Re: Australia flu deaths

Flu season yet to peak: specialists

10th August 2007, 13:13 WST

The virulent strain of influenza sweeping Australia this winter is likely to claim more lives before it burns out, a flu specialist has warned.

Five children and a healthy 37-year-old man have so far died from flu complications this season, as the nation records its highest levels of the illness since 2003.

Professor Raina MacIntyre, of the University of Sydney, said influenza was well known to kill, but those usually targeted were the vulnerable elderly and young.

"This year seems to be different and more severe than we've seen in a while," said Prof MacIntyre, a senior researcher at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

"And the numbers are still yet to peak. It's certainly possible, and maybe even likely, that more people, even healthy people, could die.

"And at least some of these deaths may be preventable by vaccination."
Influenza notifications this year are more than double 2006 and the figures reported to date are almost 2.5 times greater than the average recorded at this time in the previous five years.

Most infections have been linked to two different strains of influenza A. Both circulate each year but this season the strain known as H3N2 has been most virulent, and was behind the complication-related deaths of three Western Australian children.

The other strain, called H1N1, has been linked to 30 per cent of cases, and is believed to be responsible for the other two child deaths in Victoria and Queensland.

Queenslander Glen Kindness, 37, who died on Thursday after developing flu-like symptoms, was believed to have one of the two strains.

Influenza types B and C are known to cause fewer symptoms and are less prevalent this year.

Prof MacIntyre said each strain mutates a little each season, with small, subtle changes in severity that can "surprise" the immune system in un-immunised people.

"Influenza is fluid and changing, and sometimes these small changes, as we're seeing now, make a virus spread and cause a lot more death and sickness than other viruses," she said.

Professor Anne Kelso, director of the Melbourne-based World Health Organisation Influenza Centre, said NSW, Queensland and Western Australia were all recording unusually high flu numbers.

However, detailed lab tests on this year's strains had not found anything "particularly nasty" to cause alarm, she said.

"What we've got is a bit of flu and tragic deaths but no sign yet that something particularly unusual is going on," Prof Kelso said.

"The previous couple of years have been particularly mild which makes this one look worse, but it remains to be seen whether it winds up being a bad season in itself."

The specialists recommended Australians seek out the flu vaccine, saying the flu season may last into September.

AAP

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=407928

[Niko]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="StandardText">Saturday, 11 August 2007</td> <td class="StandardText" align="right">
</td></tr><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> Second school group hit with flu-like symptoms while visiting Canberra
Danielle Cronin

<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="160"> </table> A second group of children has developed flu-like symptoms during a school trip to Canberra as Australia suffers through the worst influenza season in years.

It emerged yesterday 30 Perth students had flown into Canberra late on Tuesday and 10 were unwell.

The 24-hour national health advice service, HealthDirect Australia, reported yesterday the Canberra After Hours Locum Medical Service had rapidly assessed all of the children and diagnosed them with a "low-grade" respiratory illness.

Last week, 12 Queensland primary school pupils were admitted to Canberra Hospital when they developed influenza A on a trip to Jindabyne.

The Canberra Times revealed yesterday that patients were inundating Canberra Hospital's overstretched emergency department as influenza and gastroenteritis hit the ACT.

The number of people diagnosed with the flu had hit a four-year high and some hospital staff reported the demand for care in the casualty department had reached a level not seen for years.

More than 150 patients a day had been treated in the department in the past week and tests confirmed that up to 20 people a day had caught the flu the highest level since 2003.

Nationally, five children and a 37-year-old man have died from the flu since July. ACT deputy chief health officer Dr Charles Guest said people with symptoms should stay away from work and school.

Symptoms include fever, body aches, muscle pain, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, a dry cough and runny nose.

"If you are seriously unwell, people should as always seek appropriate medical advice," he said.

Others could call HealthDirect Australia, on 1800022222, to seek advice on the best course of treatment.

Patients with flu-like symptoms, who head to the emergency department or doctor's surgery, should ask for a face mask.

Dr Guest said it was probably the worst flu season since 2003.

"If you look at the steep rise in cases, particularly in Queensland, I think you'd have to say that we'll have this circulating influenza for quite some weeks to come."

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=1035777&category=general

</td></tr></tbody></table>

[HenryN]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

DEVELOPING: Two more Queenslanders in their thirties have died after developing flu-like symptoms.
<!-- Article paragraphs -->The state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a news conference at 3.30pm today.

The deaths follow those of a four-year-old boy and 37-year-old father of three Glen Kindness in Queensland during the past two weeks after they developed influenza A.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/comments/0,23836,22235756-952,00.html

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

Beattie may draw on Qld's Tamiflu stockpile

Posted 49 minutes ago
Updated 50 minutes ago

The Queensland Government is moving to reassure people that stocks of a drug to treat flu will be available.

Premier Peter Beattie says he is concerned by reports that some people are having trouble filling prescriptions for Tamiflu.

Mr Beattie says Queensland Health is urging manufacturers to speed up delivery of the anti-viral medication to chemists.

He says the State Government will make its stockpile available if pharmacists still do not have adequate supplies.

Earlier this month, a four-year-old boy died after being admitted to hospital with the flu, and a 37-year-old man has died from flu-related complications.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/13/2003625.htm

THE State Government will release it stocks of the antiviral drug Tamiflu as concern continues to grow about this year's flu outbreak.

The state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a news conference at 3.30pm today.

A four-year-old boy and 37-year-old father of three Glen Kindness have already died in Queensland during the past two weeks after they developed influenza A.

Two more deaths - both women in their 30s - were initially thought to have been caused by the flu but are now believed to have been the result of other conditions despite them both exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Authorities say test results released late today show neither had influenza.

Premier Peter Beattie said today the Queensland Government would make its stockpile of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu available to ensure everyone who needed the drug would have access to it.

Mr Beattie said Dr Young was becoming increasingly concerned about the growing seriousness of the state's flu outbreak.

"It's now too late for people who have not had the flu vaccine to be protected by it," he said.

"The fact that otherwise healthy young people are now dying from the flu is of serious concern."

Mr Beattie said he had been concerned by reports that people ill with the flu were experiencing difficulties in having prescriptions for Tamiflu filled in Queensland.

"That's why we're taking the extraordinary step of opening up our stockpile to make it available to Queensland families via the public hospital system as needed," he said.

The Premier said he would be asking Prime Minister John Howard to follow Queensland's lead to provide stocks of Tamiflu from the national stockpile to residents of aged homes.

[Treyfish]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

13, 2007 03:15pm TESTS have confirmed that the deaths of two people in southeast Queensland were not due to flu.A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson said the tests, carried out after the two people, both in their 30s, had found no link with the flu. "There was no connection with the flu," the spokesman said. One death was understood to be due to a heart attack. Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young is due to hold a media conference at 3.30pm (AEST) today. Australia is in the grip of the worst outbreak of flu in six years, with almost 2000 cases recorded already this year – more than double the 700 cases usually noted by mid-August. In Queensland, a child and a 37-year-old man have died this flu season. Four other children have died across the country. The deaths, as well as concerns of an outbreak in aged care facilities, have prompted the Queensland Government to make available its stockpile of the treatment drug Tamiflu. Queensland Health already has dipped into the government stockpile to give Tamiflu to residents of a private aged care home in Brisbane's west. Premier Peter Beattie said the Government was responding to concerns that pharmacists were having difficulty filling prescriptions for Tamiflu. Mr Beattie said the Government had contacted drug companies to expedite supplies to Queensland chemists. In the meantime, the Government would make available its reserves of 40,000 courses. "It's important that we do our bit, basically," Mr Beattie said today. "We know that people are trying to get access to it and we don't want people to feel desperate in these circumstances, we want them to know we are moving to fix it." Mr Beattie said he also would write to Prime Minister John Howard asking that the national reserves of the treatment also be made available for aged care facilities. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22236110-2,00.html

[HenryN]

Re: Australia seasonal flu outbreaks/deaths

NSW toddler dies from flu


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width=160 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<STORY><BODYTEXT>A two-year-old NSW boy has died of flu.
NSW Health Director of Communicable Diseases Jeremy McAnulty said the toddler had died at his parents' home in the state's central west.
Preliminary tests show the death was probably caused by Influenza A virus.
It is the sixth flu-related child death.
Five other children including three in Western Australia, one in Queensland and one in Victoria have also been reported as dying from illness associated with Influenza A.
A 37-year-old Queensland man has also died of flu.
"This tragic death is a reminder to all people that NSW and the rest of Australia is experiencing one of the worst flu seasons for some years," Dr McAnulty said.
"Influenza is not like a common cold. It affects all ages and deaths in children are very rare indeed, so it is important to put this tragic case in context, he said.
Dr McAnulty said parents should monitor children with flu symptoms, especially with a fever or breathing problems, very carefully.
NSW Health urges people to get free influenza vaccinations from GPs.
"It is not too late in the flu season to be vaccinated. Those especially at risk are people over 65 and people with an underlying heart, chest or metabolic illness - but a flu shot can provide an important protection for everyone in our community.
Dr McAnulty said every year in NSW, hundreds of thousands of people come down with the flu.
"Influenza is much more than a common cold, but fortunately it is largely preventable," he said.
A NSW Health spokeswoman said the department was continually monitoring any flu cases in NSW.
"Tamiflu is available by doctor prescriptions in NSW and (the department's) stockpile is available only for pandemic influenza or bird flu," she said.
</BODYTEXT></STORY>Brought to you by AAP

http://kalgoorlie.yourguide.com.au/d...y=General&m=&y=