2009 flu pandemic in Australia
Encyclopedia
| Sub-division | Cases | Deaths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory confirmed |
Suspected‡ | |||
| Totals | 36,991 | n/a | 186 | |
| Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory... |
939 | n/a | 2 | |
| New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... |
5,078 | n/a | 51 | |
| Northern Territory Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions... |
1,456 | n/a | 6 | |
| Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean... |
11,528 | n/a | 41 | |
| South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland... |
8,944 | n/a | 28 | |
| Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart... |
3,204 | n/a | 7 | |
| Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
3,058 | n/a | 24 | |
| Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east... |
4,499 | n/a | 27 | |
As of 21 October 2009, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
has 36,991 confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza 09 (Human Swine Influenza) and 186 confirmed deaths due to the disease. The actual numbers are much larger, as only serious cases are being tested and treated. Suspected cases have not been reported by the Department of Health and Ageing since 18 May 2009 because they are changing too quickly to report. On 23 May The federal government classified the outbreak as CONTAIN phase except in Victoria where it was escalated to the SUSTAIN phase on 3 June. This gives government authorities permission to close schools to slow the spread of the disease. On 17 June 2009 the Department of Health and Ageing introduced a new phase called PROTECT. This modified the response to focus on people with high risk of complications from the disease. Testing at airports is to be discontinued. The national stockpile of antiviral drugs will no longer be made available to people with the flu unless there are more than mild symptoms or a high risk of dying.
Australia has a stockpile of 8.7 million doses of Tamiflu and Relenza. Under the earlier DELAY and CONTAIN phases Airlines were required to report passengers with influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
symptoms, and thermal imaging and nurses were deployed at international airports. Passengers arriving were required to fill in a health declaration card.
A large scale immunization effort against swine flu started on Monday 28 September 2009.
Context
There are on average 2,500-3,000 deaths every year as a result of seasonal influenza in Australia. An estimated 1 billion are infected seasonally, throughout the world. In Australia, 36,991 swine flu tests have given positive results and there have been 186 confirmed deaths of people infected with swine flu as of 21 October 2009.Queensland
On 9 May 2009, Australia confirmed its first case of swine flu in a 33 year old woman, when she touched down from a flight from Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. Although it was confirmed to be not infectious (coming out as a "weak but positive result"), family members and people who were sitting close to her during the flight have been contacted and urged to seek immediate medical attention if they began to show flu-like symptoms. On 24 May Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
confirmed its second case. 41 deaths have been recorded in Queensland. The first person to die in Queensland was a 38 year old woman who died on 15 July at the Mater Hospital Pimlico.
Victoria
In Victoria there have been 2,440 cases, including 24 deaths. A 11 year old boy, and later his 2 brothers, were confirmed on 20 May to carry the virus. Victorian health authorities closed Clifton HillClifton Hill, Victoria
Clifton Hill is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. The border between Clifton Hill and Fitzroy North is Queens Parade and Smith Street. Merri Creek defines the eastern border of Clifton Hill. Its Local Government Area is...
Primary School for two days on 21 May, initially, after the three brothers returned to the school from a trip to Disneyland. A further case delayed the reopening of the school until Thursday 28 May 2009. On 23 May about 22 year-nine students of Mill Park Secondary College
Mill Park Secondary College
Mill Park Secondary College is located in, Victoria, Australia with its Junior Campus located in Mill Park and its senior campus is located in Epping. Built in the early years of the 1990s for the residents of Mill Park, however the population growth grew and a Senior campus was in around 1997....
were given anti-viral Tamiflu after one of their classmates was diagnosed with swine flu, the same happened for students in year 9 at the University High School in Parkville and also for the Melton campus of Mowbray College
Mowbray College
Mowbray College is an independent, non-selective, co-educational day school, located in Maldon and Caroline Springs, Victoria, Australia.The school has three campuses. The Patterson campus, located at Melton, teaches students from pre-school to Year Twelve. The Brookside and Town Centre campuses...
after a year 10 student contracted the virus . A 35 year old man from Colac
Colac, Victoria
Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
died on 20 June 2009 at Maroondah Hospital after going to Colac Hospital the previous day. On 23 June 2009, the second swine flu related death in Victoria was reported, in that of a 50 year old woman at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. A third death was reported on 25 June. Two more death were reported on the weekend of 27 and 28 June. Two more deaths were reported on 1 July, including a 3 year old. Four more deaths were recorded on 8 July.
The SUSTAIN phase in Victoria means that less effort will be given to tracing and testing, as there would be insufficient resources available to do this. Antiviral drugs in this phase are only available to confirmed cases or their immediate contacts.
New South Wales
In New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
there have been 51 deaths. The first confirmed death in New South Wales occurred on 29 June and a second man died on 3 July.
South Australia
South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
has recorded 28 deaths, plus a 'clinical positive' where the test was inconclusive and, after swine-flu-like symptoms were reported, Tamiflu was administered, thus making a future positive confirmation unlikely. Adelaide high schools Eynesbury Senior College and Blackfriars Priory School
Blackfriars Priory School
Blackfriars Priory School is a private Roman Catholic school situated in Prospect, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, conducted by the Dominican Friars of the Province of the Assumption. For over 50 years the school has provided an education program for boys from Year 3 to Year 12, however, in...
closed for a week. The first confirmed death from swine flu in Australia was a 26 year old Aboriginal man from Kiwirrkurra Community in the Western Desert
Western Desert cultural bloc
The Western Desert cultural bloc or just Western Desert is a cultural region in Australia covering about 600,000 square kilometres, including the Gibson Desert, the Great Victoria Desert, the Great Sandy and Little Sandy Deserts in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia...
of Western Australia who died in Royal Adelaide Hospital
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is Adelaide's largest hospital, with 680 beds. Founded in 1840, the Royal Adelaide provides tertiary health care services for South Australia and provides secondary care clinical services to residents of Adelaide's city centre and inner suburbs.The hospital is situated...
on 19 June.
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
has recorded two deaths and 920 confirmed cases by 28 August 2009. Two of the earliest casualties contracted the disease while on the Pacific Dawn cruise ship. The first death in the ACT occurred on 28 July 2009.
During the last week of July, 2009, Radford College's year 12 cohort was asked to stay home, after a spike of influenza through the year.
Western Australia
There have been 27 confirmed deaths in Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The first person to die in the state was a 26 year old woman who died on 26 June 2009. A 26 year old Western Australian man died in Adelaide on 19 June.
Tasmania
Tasmania has recorded seven deaths. Public health authorities expected up to 200,000 Tasmanians could catch swine flu in the three months incoming from June. The first person to die in Tasmania was an 85 year old woman who died in Royal Hobart HospitalRoyal Hobart Hospital
The Royal Hobart Hospital is a public hospital located the in Hobart CBD, Tasmania, Australia. The RHH also functions as a teaching hospital in co-operation with University of Tasmania. The hospital's research facilities are known as the RHH Research Foundation.The hospital is run by the Tasmanian...
on 5 July.
Northern Territory
The Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
confirmed the first infection of a person on 30 May 2009. Six people have died in the territory so far. The first person in the Territory to die from the current epidemic was a man in his early 50s who died at the Royal Darwin Hospital
Royal Darwin Hospital
Royal Darwin Hospital is a 345-bed teaching hospital located in the northern suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory.-History:The first hospital of the settlement of Palmerston was built in 1874. The hospital was built on Packard Street overlooking Doctors Gully under the authority of Dr James...
on 6 July.
Overseas cases
The swine flu has also affected some Australians internationally:- Three Australians in London had confirmed cases of swine flu.
- Australians in quarantineQuarantineQuarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
:- 7 in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
- 7 in ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
including 1 confirmed case - 1 confirmed case in TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; recovered and released - 2, a mother and child, in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
- 7 in South Korea
Pacific Dawn cruise ship swine flu scare
On 25 May, about 3 hours after going off the boat, a swine flu scare was reported onboard. This shock has caused a spark in the number of cases, going up much more rapidly than before, and somehow causing "Case 1" (see above). The number of cases was around 20 before the scare, and due to this, the amount of cases have risen well over 15,000. This cruise ship caused almost half of the cases in SA, caused the WA case, and the TAS case. Also it caused a scare in New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
Government travel advice
Borders have not been closed, and no restrictions have been placed on travel. Travel to countries with confirmed cases of swine flu have not been reclassed to reconsider, as at 1 May 2009.Measures to control an outbreak
Starting from 30 April thermal imaging was applied to passenger arrivals at international airports and arriving passengers were required to fill in a card. Customs officers checked aeroplane cabins prior to disembarkation of passengers looking for people with flu symptoms.On 23 May the government upgraded the flu alert level from "delay" to "contain", giving authorities in all states the option to close schools if students were at risk. All states and territories have ordered students returning from countries where flu was widespread (Canada, Japan, Mexico, Panama and United States) not to return to school for a week after entering Australia. States outside Victoria decided to prevent students returning to school for a week if they have visited Victoria.
CSL Limited
CSL Limited
CSL Limited is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company that researches, develops, manufactures and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions...
started to produce a vaccine to immunize against swine flu, and received an order from the Australian Government for ten million doses. The inoculations are expected to be ready around the end of July 2009.
In Melbourne, seven special clinics for influenza opened on 29 May.
There are now additional measures to control the flu outbreak encouraging students returning from Victoria to stay away from school and quarantine themselves for a period of up to seven days.
Preparations
The Australian Government had a stockpile of 40 million surgical grade face masks. However stocks of face masks in pharmacies were depleted due to personal purchases. The World Health Organisation Influenza Centre in North MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
was attempting to develop a vaccine for swine flu, by growing the live virus as found in California, in chicken embryos. The first one litre batch of vaccine was announced to be ready on 29 June 2009 by the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, but would not be available for use until it was registered as safe with the regulatory authority.
A Commonwealth Health hotline
Hotline
In telecommunication, a hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook...
for Swine Influenza was set up on Australian phone number 1802007 by the Department of Health and Ageing. The Australian Government set up a health emergency web site. Daily tallies of suspected cases were given.
The Tasmanian Government set up a Tasmanian Action Plan for Human Influenza Pandemic.
The Queensland Government had an action plan prepared in 2008 and a business continuity plan in 2006. The Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Charles Guest, claimed that procedures and systems were very good to detect and respond to the disease outbreak. South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
has nominated eight hospitals to handle flu: Royal Adelaide, Flinders Medical Centre or Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Berri, Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln, Whyalla or Port Augusta. The Victorian Government Department of Human Services had a nurse on call to answer questions on the topic.
Hygiene recommendations
The Tasmanian government published a warning poster and a series of recommendations to health professionals on protective equipment, hand washing and sterilisation.Statistics
Information accurate as of 1200 EST on 21 October 2009.- 36,991 individuals infected
- 4,886 have been hospitalised since beginning of epidemic
- 186 deaths: 51 in New South Wales, 24 in Victoria, 41 in Queensland, 27 in Western Australia, 27 in South Australia, 7 in Tasmania, 6 in the Northern Territory and 2 in the ACT.