PESTILENCE WATCH:Hospitals packed in flu scare

HUNDREDS of concerned parents have packed hospital emergency departments across Perth following an influenza warning from health authorities after the deaths of three young children.Their action was prompted by a call from Western Australia's Department of Health urging parents to seek early medical attention for young children showing signs of respiratory illness.
Local GPs were also swamped and complained they had not been given enough warning to prepare for the higher demand on their services.The health department's warning followed the death of three children, all aged under five, in the Perth metropolitan area in recent days.It has been confirmed the three children died from the type A strain of the influenza virus, which can be controlled by vaccination.Director of Communicable Disease Control Paul Van Buynder said there was no need for panic, as it was suspected the three young victims also had a secondary bacterial infection.However, this was yet to be confirmed by the coroner.But Dr Van Buynder said it was still wise for parents to closely monitor their children and to have them vaccinated against flu if possible.“We are saying to parents that if your child is unwell or feverish, have a lower threshold for seeking care,” Dr Van Buynder said.“But certainly there shouldn't be any need to panic over some sort of new killer virus or anything like that.”Family doctors in Perth lamented not being given sufficient notice to bring in extra staff to cope with higher demand over the weekend.“We've been contacted by general practitioners who have said they would have preferred to have been contacted before the health department issued its message through the media,” Professor Geoff Dobb, WA president of the Australian Medical Association (AWA), said.Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) spokeswoman Robyn Lawrence said the hospital had been inundated since the warning was issued.“We have been very busy yesterday after the public announcement,” Dr Lawrence told Ten News.“We saw 237 patients yesterday, which was an increase of 60 per cent compared to the previous Friday.”In NSW, health authorities remained confident there would be no outbreak of severe flu on the east coast.
Director of Communicable Diseases at NSW Health, Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the annual flu season had arrived in NSW but there was no data to suggest anything more serious than usual.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22037493-421,00.html
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