More than half national 88,000 flu cases recorded in NSW
NEARLY half of the 88,357 cases of flu in Australia so far have hit NSW hard in most devastating flu season in years.
NSW
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TENS of thousands of people across NSW have been laid low as the most devastating flu outbreak in years has swept across the country.
Nearly half of the 88,357 cases of flu in Australia so far this year have been recorded in this state. The influenza season has emptied classrooms across Sydney and forced companies to hire temporary staff to fill in for ill workers.
NSW Health authorities said the season is peaking earlier than in previous years, with almost 10,000 people last week arriving at the emergency departments across the state with flu-like symptoms. More than 42,000 have been struck by the illness this year.
“High numbers have attended emergency departments for care for flu-like symptoms in the past week,” NSW Health communicable diseases director Dr Vicky Sheppeard said.
Most flu seasons are caused by a single strain of flu, but this year there are four, two types of influenza A and two types of influenza B strains.
Recruitment firm Randstad’s chief executive Frank Ribuot said it has fielded a 10 per cent surge in demand for temporary staff in the past few weeks “especially in frontline positions”.
“Teachers, receptionists and those working in customer service for example are far more exposed to unassuming carriers of the nasty winter bug and falling ill themselves as a result,” he said.
Data from the weekly NSW Health Influenza Surveillance Report shows that apart from the over 85s, children under 10 are the worst affected.
Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta executive director Greg Whitby said absenteeism rates had hit 40 per cent in some classrooms in Western Sydney.
“I’ve been an educator for more than 30 years, and this is as bad it gets,” he said.
Tracking of the outbreak shows it hit Western Sydney suburbs in early August, with the worst affected now the Nepean and the Blue Mountains areas, followed by northern Sydney.
“Pharmacists are surprised at how severe it’s been,” NSW Pharmacy Guild committee member Catherine Bronger said.
“We’re seeing a lot of people ... get scripts for Tamiflu, which created a bit of a shortage, but we still have supplies. People are really being knocked about, they have been quite a lot sicker and for longer.”
A NSW Chamber of Commerce spokesman said businesses were reporting sick staff were taking up to a week off, instead of just a few days.
“Everyone is talking about it, it seems to be affecting work places and the business community harder this year.”
The NSW Flutracking system’s weekly survey of 29,000 people showed 3 per cent had “influenza-like illness”.
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