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Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Sky News AU
'May be a matter of time': Chilling warning to Australians as China battles thousands of Chikungunya virus cases
China is battling the outbreak of a virus currently untreatable with medicine in a Covid-like response, but Australians have been warned it could spread here. More than 7,000 people have already been infected with the Chikungunya virus in Foshan, Guangdong, where mosquito nets have been placed around beds in hospital wards to protect patients. Symptoms of the virus can include fever and joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash. Patients are required to isolate in hospitals until they either test negative to the disease or after a week following infection. Chikungunya virus is spread though mosquito bites, and previous outbreaks have occurred in every populated continent except Australia. There is also a risk Chikungunya, which has also previously been reported in Indian and Pacific Oceans islands, can spread to other areas if travellers become affected. While the virus has popped up across Asia, the spread in China is 'rare', according to Deakin University Chair of Epidemiology professor Catherine Bennett. The virus is only spread via the Aedes mosquito, but in grim news for Australians, the bug can be found in Northern Queensland. As the virus is only spread via the mosquito, an infected person would need to travel to Australia before being bitten by the Aedes mosquito. The risk of local spread is low, but Professor Bennett said there had been numerous outbreaks in neighbouring countries over the last decade. 'We haven't yet seen it imported to Australia, but it may just be a matter of time,' Professor Bennett told 'Supporting neighbouring countries as they battle outbreaks is the best way to keep us all safe.' She said given there was 'no effective antivirals' against the virus, Chinese authorities were rightly focussed on 'protecting cases being bitten' and reducing the 'number of mosquito vectors'. The virus has spread across at least 12 other cities in Guangdong, while Hong Kong reported its first case. Residents across the region are being urged to remove stagnant water sources or else face fines of up to 10,000 Yuan ($2,148). Among the other measures deployed by authorities are the release of 'elephant mosquitoes' and fish which can devour the Aedes variety. Officials can also be seen spraying insecticide across the city in a bid to kill the mosquitoes. ANU infectious diseases specialist Dr Sanjaya Senanayake there was 'no concern' for another pandemic given the virus had been around 'for many years'. While assuring that the chance of an outbreak in Australia was 'low', he reiterated concerns about the Aedes mosquito in Northern Australia. 'It is possible for someone carrying the Chikungunya virus in their blood to arrive in central or northern Queensland from overseas, get bitten by an Aedes mosquito here, which in turn causes a case of Chikungunya in a local, who hasn't left Australia,' Dr Senanayake told 'This happens sometimes with dengue outbreaks (another virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, where the virus itself isn't endemic to Australia).' US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel warning for the province following the outbreak, with most cases reported in the city of Foshan. 'There are currently no medicines to treat Chikungunya,' the CDC's website states. The public health agency currently recommends all travellers to areas with Chikungunya outbreak to get vaccinated, and woman who are pregnant are advised to reconsider their travel plans.
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- The Advertiser
I worked as a doctor on the ground in Gaza. Here's how Australia could change lives
The 25,000 in Melbourne and 100,000 in Sydney, who, on Sunday all marched for Palestine - can't be wrong. Add in those elsewhere across Australia who massed to support Palestine, to end the hunger and death there, and you have an idea of the strength of people's commitment to ending the conflict. The situation in Gaza is now as potent and widespread a political issue as it was when the "Free David Hicks" campaign saw his face in windows and on lawns across the country. The only Australian to ever be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay on terrorism charges, the public outcry over his imprisonment saw the then prime minister, John Howard, face enormous pressure to bring him home, and he did. Our PM, Anthony Albanese, is facing similar pressure now that countries like the UK, Canada and France have all committed to recognise Palestine as a state. He wants to wait, and he and the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, have their reasons. But regardless, it is clear that the Australian public will continue to push for stronger action against what is happening in Gaza than pure rhetoric. Perhaps there is an answer to that, a way to make Australians feel that their government reflects their frustration with the Gaza situation, and one which promotes Australia's global leadership, without being overly political, in this most politicised of situations. There is currently in Jordan, just across the border with Gaza, a fully functioning mobile maternity and neonatal hospital. Set up by the charity, Pious Projects USA, the hospital would take a mere seven days from the moment it sets down to when it is operational, staffed by Jordanian healthcare workers. It's a hospital that even the Israelis can't or shouldn't object to. It has its plumbing incorporated into its above-ground structure, so there are no tunnels that the Israeli Defence Forces often cite as a fear for harbouring militants. And - way more importantly - the hospital offers real hope to the 50,000 pregnant women who, according to ActionAid Palestine, have no access to functioning hospitals, prenatal care, basic medicines, ultrasounds and safe deliveries. Many of them are having caesarean sections without anaesthesia. In some cases, women bleed to death during childbirth, and there are no incubators for babies born prematurely. The Israelis may prevent food and water from crossing into Gaza from Jordan, because of fears insurgents will hijack it - but surely allowing the set-up of a fully operational maternity hospital, with Jordanian staff, would be an apolitical act, and one that would resonate with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups globally. But consider an even greater act - and one that is led by Australia. The same template for the maternity hospital could be translated into a Children's Hospital in Gaza with Pious Projects USA ready to roll out just such a venture. Imagine an Australian Children's Hospital, in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza. The facility could be operational within months - with 100 beds, designated neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, emergency and surgical care departments, rehabilitation, and trauma-informed care services. It would be run by a consortium of countries including the UK, Canada, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, and led by Australia. The Indonesian government has already offered support due to their experience in building and operationalising the Indonesian Hospital in Bait Lahia in the Gaza Strip. A Children's Hospital in Gaza must be run by a number of countries as custodians of the hospital. With the imprimatur and support of nation states like Australia, a Children's Hospital would surely be safe from bombing, if for no other reason than the global outrage against Israel would be enormous if it did so. Recently the UK Foreign Minister, David Lammy, pledged his government's support on the floor of the UK Parliament and the Irish government has given its commitment to a children's hospital. Conversations are happening at levels with the Canadian and New Zealand governments as well. Australia as the chance to join, even lead this. Remember a children's cospital in Gaza is not just for now - it will be part of the rebuilding process when peace comes to the region, a training hub for the next generation of Palestinian doctors, attracting healthcare workers to a region where Palestinian health care workers, those that remain alive, are exhausted. On Sunday, Australians showed they want their government to assist in the peace process. Leading a push for a children's hospital is surely a start. The 25,000 in Melbourne and 100,000 in Sydney, who, on Sunday all marched for Palestine - can't be wrong. Add in those elsewhere across Australia who massed to support Palestine, to end the hunger and death there, and you have an idea of the strength of people's commitment to ending the conflict. The situation in Gaza is now as potent and widespread a political issue as it was when the "Free David Hicks" campaign saw his face in windows and on lawns across the country. The only Australian to ever be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay on terrorism charges, the public outcry over his imprisonment saw the then prime minister, John Howard, face enormous pressure to bring him home, and he did. Our PM, Anthony Albanese, is facing similar pressure now that countries like the UK, Canada and France have all committed to recognise Palestine as a state. He wants to wait, and he and the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, have their reasons. But regardless, it is clear that the Australian public will continue to push for stronger action against what is happening in Gaza than pure rhetoric. Perhaps there is an answer to that, a way to make Australians feel that their government reflects their frustration with the Gaza situation, and one which promotes Australia's global leadership, without being overly political, in this most politicised of situations. There is currently in Jordan, just across the border with Gaza, a fully functioning mobile maternity and neonatal hospital. Set up by the charity, Pious Projects USA, the hospital would take a mere seven days from the moment it sets down to when it is operational, staffed by Jordanian healthcare workers. It's a hospital that even the Israelis can't or shouldn't object to. It has its plumbing incorporated into its above-ground structure, so there are no tunnels that the Israeli Defence Forces often cite as a fear for harbouring militants. And - way more importantly - the hospital offers real hope to the 50,000 pregnant women who, according to ActionAid Palestine, have no access to functioning hospitals, prenatal care, basic medicines, ultrasounds and safe deliveries. Many of them are having caesarean sections without anaesthesia. In some cases, women bleed to death during childbirth, and there are no incubators for babies born prematurely. The Israelis may prevent food and water from crossing into Gaza from Jordan, because of fears insurgents will hijack it - but surely allowing the set-up of a fully operational maternity hospital, with Jordanian staff, would be an apolitical act, and one that would resonate with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups globally. But consider an even greater act - and one that is led by Australia. The same template for the maternity hospital could be translated into a Children's Hospital in Gaza with Pious Projects USA ready to roll out just such a venture. Imagine an Australian Children's Hospital, in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza. The facility could be operational within months - with 100 beds, designated neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, emergency and surgical care departments, rehabilitation, and trauma-informed care services. It would be run by a consortium of countries including the UK, Canada, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, and led by Australia. The Indonesian government has already offered support due to their experience in building and operationalising the Indonesian Hospital in Bait Lahia in the Gaza Strip. A Children's Hospital in Gaza must be run by a number of countries as custodians of the hospital. With the imprimatur and support of nation states like Australia, a Children's Hospital would surely be safe from bombing, if for no other reason than the global outrage against Israel would be enormous if it did so. Recently the UK Foreign Minister, David Lammy, pledged his government's support on the floor of the UK Parliament and the Irish government has given its commitment to a children's hospital. Conversations are happening at levels with the Canadian and New Zealand governments as well. Australia as the chance to join, even lead this. Remember a children's cospital in Gaza is not just for now - it will be part of the rebuilding process when peace comes to the region, a training hub for the next generation of Palestinian doctors, attracting healthcare workers to a region where Palestinian health care workers, those that remain alive, are exhausted. On Sunday, Australians showed they want their government to assist in the peace process. Leading a push for a children's hospital is surely a start. The 25,000 in Melbourne and 100,000 in Sydney, who, on Sunday all marched for Palestine - can't be wrong. Add in those elsewhere across Australia who massed to support Palestine, to end the hunger and death there, and you have an idea of the strength of people's commitment to ending the conflict. The situation in Gaza is now as potent and widespread a political issue as it was when the "Free David Hicks" campaign saw his face in windows and on lawns across the country. The only Australian to ever be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay on terrorism charges, the public outcry over his imprisonment saw the then prime minister, John Howard, face enormous pressure to bring him home, and he did. Our PM, Anthony Albanese, is facing similar pressure now that countries like the UK, Canada and France have all committed to recognise Palestine as a state. He wants to wait, and he and the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, have their reasons. But regardless, it is clear that the Australian public will continue to push for stronger action against what is happening in Gaza than pure rhetoric. Perhaps there is an answer to that, a way to make Australians feel that their government reflects their frustration with the Gaza situation, and one which promotes Australia's global leadership, without being overly political, in this most politicised of situations. There is currently in Jordan, just across the border with Gaza, a fully functioning mobile maternity and neonatal hospital. Set up by the charity, Pious Projects USA, the hospital would take a mere seven days from the moment it sets down to when it is operational, staffed by Jordanian healthcare workers. It's a hospital that even the Israelis can't or shouldn't object to. It has its plumbing incorporated into its above-ground structure, so there are no tunnels that the Israeli Defence Forces often cite as a fear for harbouring militants. And - way more importantly - the hospital offers real hope to the 50,000 pregnant women who, according to ActionAid Palestine, have no access to functioning hospitals, prenatal care, basic medicines, ultrasounds and safe deliveries. Many of them are having caesarean sections without anaesthesia. In some cases, women bleed to death during childbirth, and there are no incubators for babies born prematurely. The Israelis may prevent food and water from crossing into Gaza from Jordan, because of fears insurgents will hijack it - but surely allowing the set-up of a fully operational maternity hospital, with Jordanian staff, would be an apolitical act, and one that would resonate with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups globally. But consider an even greater act - and one that is led by Australia. The same template for the maternity hospital could be translated into a Children's Hospital in Gaza with Pious Projects USA ready to roll out just such a venture. Imagine an Australian Children's Hospital, in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza. The facility could be operational within months - with 100 beds, designated neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, emergency and surgical care departments, rehabilitation, and trauma-informed care services. It would be run by a consortium of countries including the UK, Canada, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, and led by Australia. The Indonesian government has already offered support due to their experience in building and operationalising the Indonesian Hospital in Bait Lahia in the Gaza Strip. A Children's Hospital in Gaza must be run by a number of countries as custodians of the hospital. With the imprimatur and support of nation states like Australia, a Children's Hospital would surely be safe from bombing, if for no other reason than the global outrage against Israel would be enormous if it did so. Recently the UK Foreign Minister, David Lammy, pledged his government's support on the floor of the UK Parliament and the Irish government has given its commitment to a children's hospital. Conversations are happening at levels with the Canadian and New Zealand governments as well. Australia as the chance to join, even lead this. Remember a children's cospital in Gaza is not just for now - it will be part of the rebuilding process when peace comes to the region, a training hub for the next generation of Palestinian doctors, attracting healthcare workers to a region where Palestinian health care workers, those that remain alive, are exhausted. On Sunday, Australians showed they want their government to assist in the peace process. Leading a push for a children's hospital is surely a start. The 25,000 in Melbourne and 100,000 in Sydney, who, on Sunday all marched for Palestine - can't be wrong. Add in those elsewhere across Australia who massed to support Palestine, to end the hunger and death there, and you have an idea of the strength of people's commitment to ending the conflict. The situation in Gaza is now as potent and widespread a political issue as it was when the "Free David Hicks" campaign saw his face in windows and on lawns across the country. The only Australian to ever be incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay on terrorism charges, the public outcry over his imprisonment saw the then prime minister, John Howard, face enormous pressure to bring him home, and he did. Our PM, Anthony Albanese, is facing similar pressure now that countries like the UK, Canada and France have all committed to recognise Palestine as a state. He wants to wait, and he and the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, have their reasons. But regardless, it is clear that the Australian public will continue to push for stronger action against what is happening in Gaza than pure rhetoric. Perhaps there is an answer to that, a way to make Australians feel that their government reflects their frustration with the Gaza situation, and one which promotes Australia's global leadership, without being overly political, in this most politicised of situations. There is currently in Jordan, just across the border with Gaza, a fully functioning mobile maternity and neonatal hospital. Set up by the charity, Pious Projects USA, the hospital would take a mere seven days from the moment it sets down to when it is operational, staffed by Jordanian healthcare workers. It's a hospital that even the Israelis can't or shouldn't object to. It has its plumbing incorporated into its above-ground structure, so there are no tunnels that the Israeli Defence Forces often cite as a fear for harbouring militants. And - way more importantly - the hospital offers real hope to the 50,000 pregnant women who, according to ActionAid Palestine, have no access to functioning hospitals, prenatal care, basic medicines, ultrasounds and safe deliveries. Many of them are having caesarean sections without anaesthesia. In some cases, women bleed to death during childbirth, and there are no incubators for babies born prematurely. The Israelis may prevent food and water from crossing into Gaza from Jordan, because of fears insurgents will hijack it - but surely allowing the set-up of a fully operational maternity hospital, with Jordanian staff, would be an apolitical act, and one that would resonate with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups globally. But consider an even greater act - and one that is led by Australia. The same template for the maternity hospital could be translated into a Children's Hospital in Gaza with Pious Projects USA ready to roll out just such a venture. Imagine an Australian Children's Hospital, in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza. The facility could be operational within months - with 100 beds, designated neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, emergency and surgical care departments, rehabilitation, and trauma-informed care services. It would be run by a consortium of countries including the UK, Canada, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, and led by Australia. The Indonesian government has already offered support due to their experience in building and operationalising the Indonesian Hospital in Bait Lahia in the Gaza Strip. A Children's Hospital in Gaza must be run by a number of countries as custodians of the hospital. With the imprimatur and support of nation states like Australia, a Children's Hospital would surely be safe from bombing, if for no other reason than the global outrage against Israel would be enormous if it did so. Recently the UK Foreign Minister, David Lammy, pledged his government's support on the floor of the UK Parliament and the Irish government has given its commitment to a children's hospital. Conversations are happening at levels with the Canadian and New Zealand governments as well. Australia as the chance to join, even lead this. Remember a children's cospital in Gaza is not just for now - it will be part of the rebuilding process when peace comes to the region, a training hub for the next generation of Palestinian doctors, attracting healthcare workers to a region where Palestinian health care workers, those that remain alive, are exhausted. On Sunday, Australians showed they want their government to assist in the peace process. Leading a push for a children's hospital is surely a start.
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Shortage of burial shrouds as dozens more Gazans die
At least 40 more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Gaza, including 10 seeking aid, health authorities said, adding another five had died of starvation in what humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine. The 10 died in two separate incidents near aid sites belonging to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in central and southern Gaza, local medics said. The United Nations says more than 1000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in the enclave since the GHF began operating in May 2025, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites. "Everyone who goes there, comes back either with a bag of flour or carried back (on a wooden stretcher) as a martyr, or injured. No one comes back safe," said 40-year-old Palestinian Bilal Thari. He was among mourners at Gaza City's Al Shifa hospital on Monday who had gathered to collect the bodies of their loved ones killed a day earlier by Israeli fire as they sought aid, according to Gaza's health officials. At least 13 Palestinians were killed on Sunday while waiting for the arrival of UN aid trucks at the Zikim crossing on the Israeli border with the northern Gaza Strip, the officials said. At the hospital, some bodies were wrapped in thick patterned blankets because white shrouds, which hold special significance in Islamic burials, were in short supply due to continued Israeli border restrictions and the mounting number of daily deaths, Palestinians said. "We don't want war, we want peace, we want this misery to end. We are out on the streets, we all are hungry, we are all in bad shape, women are out there on the streets, we have nothing available for us to live a normal life like all human beings, there's no life," Thari told Reuters. There was no immediate comment by Israel on Sunday's incident. The Israeli military said in a statement to Reuters that it had not fired earlier on Monday in the vicinity of the aid distribution centre in the southern Gaza Strip, but it did not elaborate further. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops, and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how the military should proceed in Gaza to meet all his government's war goals, which include defeating Hamas and releasing the hostages. Meanwhile, five more people died of starvation or malnutrition over the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said on Monday. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from hunger to 180, including 93 children, since the war began. UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease access to it. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said that during the past week, over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by UN and other international organisations. Israel's military later said 120 aid packages containing food had been dropped into Gaza "over the past few hours" by six different countries in collaboration with COGAT. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that more than 600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions in late July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted. Palestinian and UN officials said Gaza needs around 600 aid trucks to enter per day to meet the humanitarian requirements - the number Israel used to allow into Gaza before the war. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed 1200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
