Huge spike in flu, RSV, Covid cases in Queensland
Queensland is set to experience its deadliest flu season in decades, alongside substantial RSV infections and Covid outbreaks. Here’s how you can avoid getting sick.
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Queensland is set to experience its deadliest Influenza (flu) season in decades, with already surging cases expected to peak heavily, alongside substantial Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infections and Covid outbreaks.
Health experts hold grave concerns for the early arrival of this years’ flu season due to the dismal number of vaccinated Queenslanders and the enormous strain a triple-threat viral infection wave would place on the state’s overstretched hospital system.
Infectious diseases physician and Director of Immunisation Coalition Professor Paul Griffin said flu cases were already beyond levels seen in the deadly 2019 season, and hospitals would struggle if vaccination rates remained low.
“I do have significant concerns with how the healthcare system will cope,” he said.
“Those three viruses together will mean that our healthcare system will be will be stretched if we don‘t do as much as we can to minimise the impact.
“ (Covid) booster uptake is again not where it needs to be. We’ve got a fraction of the eligible population vaccinated so far. We need people to get both vaccines this year.”
According to the latest Queensland Health data, total confirmed flu cases have already reached 8330 this year, compared to just 361 the same time last year, while RSV cases have skyrocketed in young children aged four or younger.
RSV weekly case numbers have also supplanted levels usually seen during mid May, with 7663 cases recorded by April 24.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said viral infection cases were “only going to grow,” and take up crucial hospital beds.
“We are constantly challenged as far as bed capacity nowadays,” Ms D’Ath said.
“Yesterday, I had 307 hospital beds taken up with Covid patients.
“Just in the past week, we had 4000 registered (Covid) cases and we know many, many other people are not registering their positive results.”
Flu season began unseasonably early this year, with cases quickly doubling between March and April.
Case numbers have now surpassed what they were in April 2019, when Queensland experienced its worst flu season on record with more than 68,000 cases and 264 deaths.
Despite the infection explosion, just 3.1 per cent of children aged between 6 months and five years have received a flu shot this year.
The number of vaccinated children aged between five and 15 years was even worse, at 2.2 per cent.
Amaze Early Education teacher Sarah Sly said the Gold Coast childcare centre had already seen a wide range of illnesses this year, including cases of RSV and gastroenteritis.
“We’ve had a lot of sick kids,” she said.
“They have to get a clearance before they come back and the exclusion (period) is different for each illness as well, while we
“We (adults) get flu shots and try to rest.”
In an effort to boost numbers, the Immunisation Coalition on Friday gave free flu shots to 450 adults at Brisbane City Hall.
Covid booster shots are also lagging with more than 3 million Queenslanders now eligible for a top up jab, and 246,356 remaining unvaccinated.
Immunisation Coalition chief Kim Sampson said the drop off in vaccination rates was likely due to a combination of inconvenience and vaccine fatigue following the pandemic.
“Convenience is one that really does make a difference,” he said.
Weekly Covid cases have been hovering at about the 3500 mark since the end of March, however director of infectious disease at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Dr Krispin Hajkowicz anticipates there would be “an extremely significant spike in Covid this winter”.
“The XBB Covid variant is really taking over,” he said.
“RSV is also very much on the uptick and I suspect it will be quite a heavy season for that.”
Gabrielle Baker was one of 450 Brisbanites who received a free flu shot on Friday and said there had been a noticeable spike in flu cases in her community.
“It was very convenient to catch a bus into the city and get it done quickly,” she said.
“It’s just a safeguard to protect against what might be. We may still get the flu but it’s certainly not going to be as bad.”
There is currently no vaccine for RSV, which is considered extremely infectious and can survive outside of the body for up to seven hours.
Similarly to Covid and the flu, RSV can be prevented by good hygiene practice including regular hand washing, disinfecting regularly touched surfaces and toys and covering coughs and sneezes.
Last year, 90 Queenslanders died after contracting the flu, with the state recording 42,338 flu cases.
Queenslanders currently flu vaccinated:
6 months – 5 years = 3.1 per cent
5 years – 15 years = 2.2 per cent
15 years – 50 years = 6.5 per cent
50 years – 65 years = 12.9 per cent
Over 65 years = 30.5 per cent
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