Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Dr. Belinda Greenwood Smith from the NT's Centre for Disease Control says the NT has seen a flu surge, and an alarming rise in the number of those hospitalised

Transcript

Dr. Belinda Greenwood Smith from the NT's Centre for Disease Control says the NT has seen a flu surge, and an alarming rise in the number of those hospitalised · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: So we are apparently seeing a flu surge around the nation,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: quite a high volume I belief of flu cases around
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  Speaker 1: the nation. Now joining us on the line right now
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  Speaker 1: from the Center for Disease Control coordinator Belinda Greenwood Smith,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Belinda.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Belinda.
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  Speaker 1: Are we seeing a surge of flu cases around the
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  Speaker 1: nation right now?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely we are. We're seeing quite sort of steep
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  Speaker 2: rises in notifications of flu also in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: So we've seen since the first of April over one
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  Speaker 2: thousand notifications of flu. And to put that into perspective,
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  Speaker 2: when we have a well on average by this time
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  Speaker 2: of the year, we would only have had three hundred
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  Speaker 2: or four hundred or sour cases notified. So it's much
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  Speaker 2: greater than we would normally get. It's a bit too
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  Speaker 2: early to know whether this is just an early season
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  Speaker 2: or whether it's it's a bigger season than usual. However, Wow, so.
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  Speaker 1: A thousand cases in the Northern Territory since the first
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  Speaker 1: of April. Correct, that does sound like a high number, Belinda.
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  Speaker 1: When it comes to the severity of this flu, does
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  Speaker 1: it largely depend on the individual or is this quite
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  Speaker 1: quite a bad flu?
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  Speaker 2: It's an interesting question, and it can be very difficult
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  Speaker 2: to answer so early in the season because normally by
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  Speaker 2: the end of the year we're able to look at
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  Speaker 2: all the numbers and have a more kind of a
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  Speaker 2: better picture of it. But we have got an indication
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  Speaker 2: that it is a little bit more severe in the
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  Speaker 2: number of hospitalizations we're seeing. So we're seeing more hospitalizations
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  Speaker 2: than we would normally see for this time of year.
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  Speaker 2: But even in fact, for any peak peak flu season,
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  Speaker 2: we're seeing more hospitalizations than we will normally see in
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  Speaker 2: Central Australia. So currently the cases are split fifty to
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  Speaker 2: fifty between Top End and Central Australia, and it's making
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  Speaker 2: its way up up the highway and in Central Australia
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  Speaker 2: of the cases that we have of them have been hospitalized. Now,
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  Speaker 2: normally in a flu season, that might be quite normal
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  Speaker 2: that you get a third hospitalized, but the pure numbers
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  Speaker 2: we're seeing is greater than we normally would see.
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  Speaker 1: And Belinda, I guess there is some you know, some
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  Speaker 1: people sort of believe that we don't have it as
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  Speaker 1: prevalently here in the territory in many ways because up
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  Speaker 1: here in the Top End we sort of don't see
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  Speaker 1: a strong winter, we really just have that dry season.
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  Speaker 3: But does the weather have much to.
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  Speaker 2: Do with it? Well, it used to, so, I mean
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  Speaker 2: we used to be able to predict flu seasons. It
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  Speaker 2: used to be more sort of in the sort of
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  Speaker 2: August September time quite regularly. But in the last couple
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  Speaker 2: of years we've seen them in December, January, April. They're
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  Speaker 2: sort of all over the place at the moment. Yeah. So,
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  Speaker 2: but just returning to your questions around in answer before that,
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  Speaker 2: you asked about, you know a little bit alluding to
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  Speaker 2: who might be more more vulnerable to the flu. So,
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  Speaker 2: we certainly know that there are groups of people that
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  Speaker 2: are more likely to get sick if they get the flu,
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  Speaker 2: particularly people who have had a serious sort of chronic,
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  Speaker 2: long term medical condition, people who are elderly, so over
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  Speaker 2: sixty five years of age, in particular, children, pregnant women,
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  Speaker 2: and also aboriginal people. And that's because they're living in
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  Speaker 2: circumstances where there's often overcrowding, so it spreads more easily,
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  Speaker 2: so they're more likely to get it. And because of this,
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  Speaker 2: because we know of these higher risk groups, we have
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  Speaker 2: a program when we offer a free vaccine to those
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  Speaker 2: high risk groups. However, anyone can We would encourage anyone
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  Speaker 2: to get a flu vaccine, and you can get the
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  Speaker 2: vaccines industry your GPS, or you can even go to
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  Speaker 2: the pharmacies now to get the vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: That was going to be my next question, because we
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  Speaker 1: did get a message from one of our listeners, Karen
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  Speaker 1: and Catherine, and she said she went to the pharmacy
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  Speaker 1: to book a flu shop but was told that she'd
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  Speaker 1: need a script from her GP. Is that generally the case,
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  Speaker 1: would you need a script from your GP?
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  Speaker 2: I suppose they might be participating pharmacies and that they
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  Speaker 2: would need to. You're credited to be able to do this,
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  Speaker 2: so perhaps a Catherine pharmacy isn't a credit.
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  Speaker 1: It Okay, that's something we can follow up either way.
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  Speaker 1: So in terms of getting that flu vaccine, have we
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  Speaker 1: do we know if we've had a high number of
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  Speaker 1: people going in to get the flu vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we have, but it's not We've had sort of
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  Speaker 2: a normal amount. I would say it's not. So I
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  Speaker 2: think people really need to get the message that the
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  Speaker 2: flu is well and truly his people are sort of thinking,
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  Speaker 2: oh it'll come in winter, it'll be later on. I've
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  Speaker 2: got time but you know it is in Central Australia,
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  Speaker 2: it's making its way up. It is in Darwin, but
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  Speaker 2: it's obviously I think going to take off in the
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  Speaker 2: next few weeks up there. So people need to get
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  Speaker 2: their vaccine now. And remember that the vaccines don't work immediately.
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  Speaker 2: They take a couple of weeks for the immune system
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  Speaker 2: to really pick up in response to the vaccine. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, people really needed to sort of start getting
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  Speaker 2: the getting the vaccine if they particularly if they're there
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  Speaker 2: they're in those high risk groups.
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  Speaker 1: And Belinda, you did say that some of those as
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  Speaker 1: high risk groups are obviously able to get the vaccine
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  Speaker 1: for free. Are you able to just run us through
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  Speaker 1: those groups again?
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  Speaker 2: Sure? So just the vaccine. Just one more comment on
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  Speaker 2: the vaccine. The vaccine is free, as I said, for
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  Speaker 2: these groups. It's safe. You know that we've had that
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  Speaker 2: technology around for a very long time. We've been using
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  Speaker 2: it for a long time and the current vaccine includes
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  Speaker 2: the strains that are circulating that we've seen circulating, so
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  Speaker 2: it should be effective as well. So the groups that
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  Speaker 2: the vaccine is free for are children who are under
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  Speaker 2: five years of age, between six months and five years
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  Speaker 2: of age, the people who have chronic conditions, over six
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  Speaker 2: months of age, people over sixty five years of age,
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  Speaker 2: all pregnant women, because in fact, pregnant women can get
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  Speaker 2: got quite sick with the flu and it's safe in pregnancy.
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  Speaker 2: And then aboriginal people, all aboriginal people over six months
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  Speaker 2: of age.
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  Speaker 1: And we have seen in and this is a question
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  Speaker 1: we'll put to the Minister's office, but that we have
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  Speaker 1: seen in other states that it's been free for for everybody.
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  Speaker 1: I guess, you know, like I say, that's probably a
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  Speaker 1: question more for the Minister's office than you, Belinda, But
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  Speaker 1: I do wonder whether something like that might be what
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  Speaker 1: we'll end up seeing around the territory if we've got
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  Speaker 1: quite a high volume of people with the flu already.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I can't comment on that, but I think the
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  Speaker 2: most important thing is that those people who do fall
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  Speaker 2: into those high risk groups do get the flea vaccine.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and well, Blinda, I tell you what, it does
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  Speaker 1: sound like it's going to be an interesting time for us.
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  Speaker 1: I know that we've all you know, we're still seeing
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  Speaker 1: those COVID numbers around the territory as well. And I
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  Speaker 1: do wonder whether some people have sort of thought all right, Well,
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  Speaker 1: I'm vaccinated against COVID. Do I need to get the
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  Speaker 1: flu vaccine as well?
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  Speaker 3: But you do, yes.
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  Speaker 2: Unfortunately, unfortunately we don't have one vaccine to cover all.
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  Speaker 2: I wish we did, but you know, on COVID, you know,
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  Speaker 2: people have learned a lot about respiratory infections and how
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  Speaker 2: they spread, so you know, don't forget flu is very
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  Speaker 2: similar to COVID in the way that it spreads. So
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  Speaker 2: people need to continue to wash their hands, cough into
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  Speaker 2: the elbow, stay home if they're unwell, and even wear masks.
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  Speaker 2: That's you know, it'll be all very effective ways of
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  Speaker 2: protecting ourselves.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Blinda, great to talk with you this morning.
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  Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time and providing us a bit
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  Speaker 1: further info, particularly around those numbers of how many people
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  Speaker 1: have actually got the flu in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: At the moment. That's a pleasure.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, We appreciate it.