Influenza vaccinations recommended as cases of respiratory illness rise across Australia

A range of respiratory illnesses are on the rise in Australia as the colder weather hits, with the number of laboratory-confirmed influenza in particular steeply increasing.

The latest Australian influenza surveillance report shows that in the fortnight to 28 May almost all jurisdictions saw a rise in respiratory illnesses. Of the 57,816 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza reported to the government this year, 30% were recorded in the latest fortnightly reporting period. The proportion of people taking time off work also increased, the report said.

Since April there have been 518 hospital admissions of people with confirmed influenza, of which 37 were admitted directly to intensive care.

However, the number of influenza cases in the community are in line with historical data. The majority (75%) of influenza cases so far this year are influenza A, one of the most common types of influenza virus. Influenza B is also being commonly detected.

Influenza notification rates have been highest in the Northern Territory (572 notifications per 100,000 people) followed by Queensland (343 notifications per 100,000 people).

A medical virologist with NSW Health Pathology, Prof Dominic Dwyer, said; “This is the start of winter virus activity”.

“There is plenty of Covid-19 as well as influenza A and B and RSV,” he said. RSV is short for respiratory syncytial virus, which mostly affects young children and can cause a chest infection called bronchiolitis.

“Influenza B is about a third of influenza detections at the moment,” Dwyer said. “Make sure you are vaccinated against influenza, as the vaccine covers the influenza A and B viruses.”

Meanwhile nationally 38,618 cases of Covid-19 were reported in the week to 30 May, an average of 5,517 cases per day. This is a 6.2% decline from the previous week. But in the fortnight to 28 May, Covid-19 remained the most commonly detected respiratory virus in New South Wales and Tasmania.

Guardian Australia’s tracking of Covid hospitalisation data shows the number of weekly hospitalisations has increased from around 1,288 people in March to 2,771 in June, but the spike in hospitalisation data remains below the January wave.

States and territories reported a total of 184 Covid deaths in the week ending 2 June, according to Covid-tracking website Covidlive.

In the year-to-date, influenza cases have been highest in children aged five to nine years, followed by those aged zero to four, and then 10–14.

People can be infectious with influenza from the day before symptom onset, and while adults are most infectious in the first three to five days of their illness, children can remain infectious for up to 10 days, NSW Health reports.

The Australian influenza surveillance report does not provide a full picture of influenza, as different states, territories, hospitals and health services have different methods of reporting. But it shows in the fortnight to 28 May, an average of 5.3 per 1,000 consultations with a GP were due to influenza-like illnesses, compared with 3.7 the previous fortnight.

In South Australia rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, was most common. Influenza A was the most common respiratory illness diagnosed in WA, while SARS-CoV-2 and picornavirus, which can cause the common cold, were most common in Victoria.

More than 16.5 million Australians have not received a Covid-19 booster shot in over six months, the Australian Medical Association’s president, Dr Steve Robson, said on Thursday.

“The age of lockdowns and restrictions is over, so it’s understandable why many people are falling into a false sense of security, but the latest data shows the virus is infecting thousands of Australians every day,” Robson said.

Robson said Covid-19 boosters and flu shots are separate vaccines that could be safely administered at the same time, and urged people to get vaccinated.