Spike in flu cases sparks plea over 'dire' rate of jabs
Australians are being warned to get vaccinated before a possible severe flu season after an unusual spike in cases across the country.
Low vaccination rates have reflected a "lack of concern" for influenza but Australians have been told not to underestimate the respiratory illness as winter looms.
More than 71,000 flu cases have been reported in Australia since January 1, an unseasonally high rise.
The rise in cases was unusual, the World Health Organisation's Patrick Reading said.
It is more than 50 per cent higher than the previous record of flu cases during January to March 2024.
The rise might reflect behavioural traits, Professor Reading said, such as the weather leading to more people indoors, travellers bringing the virus into Australia and a declining rate of vaccination.
The northern hemisphere, particularly the United States, recorded a striking peak of influenza cases during its winter between December and February.
However, even with these indicators, Prof Reading said it didn't make it any easier to predict the severity of the upcoming flu season, commonly from June to September.
"This will be dependent on a range of factors, which virus subtype becomes dominant or which strain becomes dominant," said Prof Reading, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research director.
Experts will get a better idea of how to gauge the flu season's severity when cases begin piling up through winter.
But the message is clear - now is the time to get vaccinated.
People have been told to get the flu jab to protect themselves and those considered at high risk including young children, the elderly, pregnant women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
"Our influenza vaccination rates in Australia are dire, and they're not improving," said Julie Leask, University of Sydney's Public Health and Social Scientist.
At the end of 2024, 62 per cent of people aged over 65 received a flu vaccine while just 28 per cent of kids aged six months to five years old had coverage.
This year doesn't seem to be tracking any better with 32.5 per cent of people over 65 so far receiving the flu jab.
"There's a lack of concern about influenza," Professor Leask said.
"It's the kind of underdog of infectious diseases, and people tend to underestimate its severity."
Factors stopping people from getting a flu jab include the cost of the shot or going to the doctor, inconvenience in making an appointment, long wait times and unavailability, a National Vaccination Insights Project survey said.
Flu vaccines are free for everyone in Queensland and Western Australia while other states slashed the fee for kids under five, people over 65 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Australia reported 365,000 influenza cases last year, with more than 4200 people admitted to hospital and 810 flu-related deaths.
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"That's a big change, and in the longer run we're hoping new stimulation strategies will allow better clarity of hearing and better speech understanding," Professor Briggs told AAP. The new device was developed over a decade with the help of Cochlear's 600-strong research and development teams across six global centres. One in six Australians, or 3.6 million people, suffer from some form of hearing loss. Cochlear has provided more than 750,000 hearing implants to people around the world over four decades, and helped children born deaf to hear for the first time. When Ms Young first had the implant, she said interpreting the signals was like learning a new language. "To me it sounded like a lot of magpies talking all at once in my head," she said. But with time and a little patience from friends and family, she was soon back where she wanted to be. "Six weeks after I got my implant, I went to the Deni Ute Muster in the front row and watched my country music," she said. "It has given me back my social aspect, my confidence ... It's just given me a new lease for life." She urged anyone noticing changes in their hearing to get checked. "I just want to suggest anybody that has trouble hearing or think they're having a difficulty - get onto it," she said. "Don't sit back like I did." Hearing implant developer and manufacturer Cochlear is sounding out the market, launching its latest implant and cutting earnings guidance on the same day. Weaker-than-expected sales forced the health technology company to trim net profit expectations to between $390 to $400 million, down from $410 million to $430 million, but still higher than FY24's $387 million result. Implant sales were expected to increase by around 10 per cent this financial year, with growth weighted to the emerging markets as expansion in developed markets undershot expectations. The update came as Cochlear launched its latest implant in Australia, the first of its kind with upgradeable firmware and internal memory. Investors opted to take the good news over the bad, sending Cochlear shares 0.4 per cent higher to $271.65 after dipping more than nine per cent at the market's open. Jenny Young, one of the first to try the new device, was in her late 40s when her audiologist told her she would need hearing aids. Phone conversations were hard, she needed friends and family to repeat themselves and the country music shows she loved had become muffled and unclear. "I just gave up because I didn't know what song was coming on," Ms Young, now 58, told AAP. She initially ignored her audiologist's advice until life became too difficult. "Sometimes you felt excluded, and you tended to exclude yourself because you weren't quite sure what was said, and you didn't want to pop in and embarrass yourself," Ms Young said. After mixed results with hearing aids, her audiologist suggested her for a trial of the Cochlear's new implant, the 8th generation of the device which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, as opposed to hearing aids which amplify sound. The new internal memory allowed users to store their personal hearing settings on the implant, while upgrades could improve the way the auditory nerve was stimulated, implant program director Robert Briggs said. "That's a big change, and in the longer run we're hoping new stimulation strategies will allow better clarity of hearing and better speech understanding," Professor Briggs told AAP. The new device was developed over a decade with the help of Cochlear's 600-strong research and development teams across six global centres. One in six Australians, or 3.6 million people, suffer from some form of hearing loss. Cochlear has provided more than 750,000 hearing implants to people around the world over four decades, and helped children born deaf to hear for the first time. When Ms Young first had the implant, she said interpreting the signals was like learning a new language. "To me it sounded like a lot of magpies talking all at once in my head," she said. But with time and a little patience from friends and family, she was soon back where she wanted to be. "Six weeks after I got my implant, I went to the Deni Ute Muster in the front row and watched my country music," she said. "It has given me back my social aspect, my confidence ... It's just given me a new lease for life." She urged anyone noticing changes in their hearing to get checked. "I just want to suggest anybody that has trouble hearing or think they're having a difficulty - get onto it," she said. "Don't sit back like I did."
