Three Children in Western Australia Die Within 24 Hours Of Falling Ill

Three children, died in Perth within 24 hours of falling ill. The West Australian Health Department says the children died from contracting a combination of a flu strain and a pneumonia-causing bacterial infection.

The department's Communicable Disease Control director Dr Paul Van Buynder said all three children were under the age of five.

Dr Van Buynder said, "It's apparent that all three of the children who had tragic consequences had very similar illnesses that started with a mild Influenza A infection and gone on from there to develop secondary bacterial complications."

"Most of the children who have a secondary bacterial infection will develop a full-blown pneumonia and that will be part of the cause of the tragic consequences."

Worried parents in West Australia have inundated emergency departments after the health authorities issued a warning on Friday urging parents to get children with fever and lethargy checked.

Tasmania's Public Health Director Roscoe Taylor said parents needed to be vigilant with their children.

Dr Taylor said, "The situation with influenza is the same no matter which part of Australia it's affecting."

"Influenza A can be very serious in the young and elderly. It can cause major complications, from pneumonia through to other problems, including death."

Dr Taylor said there had been at least half a dozen cases of influenza A confirmed in Tasmania in the past three weeks.

He said, "And that will only be the tip of the iceberg because only a small percentage of people with the disease get laboratory tested to confirm it."

As well as vaccination, Dr Taylor encouraged people to:

- Stay at home if sick.

- Keep sick children at home.

- Cover sneezes and coughs.

- Wash hands regularly.

Meanwhile, Queensland Health is urging all parents to vaccinate their young children against flu, especially if they also suffered from a medical condition such as heart disease or diabetes.

Health officials in Victoria said the number of flu cases were below average so far, while in NSW an initial increase in the number of flu cases had been reported going into the season.


source:www.allheadlinenews.com