‘Get vaccinated': Cases surge in Australia
Australians have been urged to get a flu vaccination as cases surge across the country, almost doubling in one state.
The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System reported there had been more than 46,300 cases across Australia this year to the end of March, an increase of about 50 per cent from last year.
The report showed 67 people in Queensland had been hospitalised with influenza and another 900 were diagnosed in one week.
More than 10,000 flu cases have been reported in Victoria with numbers continuing to rise and were almost double the amount of cases compared to the same time last year.
Victorian chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri told Nine, April was the best month to receive a vaccination ahead of the peak flu season in June and July.
'It does take a couple of weeks before those antibodies come into your body and give you that protection – so you'll get peak protection if you go out and get vaccinated now,' he said.
An Australian Health Department spokesman said the flu was particularly dangerous for babies, young children and people with underlying medical conditions and a vaccine was available to people aged over six months.
'It can require hospitalisation and can cause death,' a spokesman said.
'Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect yourself and your family from serious disease caused by influenza.'
Flu vaccines are given each year to protect people against the most common strains of the virus.
It is recommended children aged 6 months to five years, pregnant women, people aged over 65 and people with a medical condition get vaccinated.
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