Latest news with #InfluenzaB
ABC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Influenza B is hitting Australian children hard this flu season as vaccination uptake slows
After missing her flu vaccine for just one year Millie Campbell was fighting for her life. The then-eight-year-old contracted Influenza B in 2019 and, what started with aches and pains in her legs, led to multiple organ failure. "They had to drain 200 millilitres of fluid from her heart — it was struggling," her mother Stephanie Campbell said. "I think the doctor's words were 'your daughter could die tonight'." Millie was taken by rescue helicopter from Newcastle to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney but soon after arriving she went into cardiac arrest. "It was very, very surreal, it actually felt like at the time it wasn't happening," Millie's dad, Ian Campbell, said. "There was no indication she was going to survive," Ms Campbell said. When the doctors told Millie's parents the underlying cause of her illness was Influenza B they were shocked. "We were blissfully ignorant to the fact it can be a killer," Mr Campbell said. "People always think, 'Oh it won't happen to our kids'." Millie was fit, healthy and had no pre-existing conditions but had to spend weeks in intensive care and six months in hospital. She had to learn to walk again and eventually had to have her left foot up to her ankle amputated because of peripheral circulation damage from being on life support for so long. "Millie's recovery will be a lifelong journey … and seeing how severe the flu can be, our message is: really to talk to your medical practitioner about the vaccine," Ms Campbell said. This year, Australia has seen much higher rates of Influenza B than last year, particularly in children aged five to 16 years old, despite Influenza A being the more prominent virus type. Influenza A and B present similarly, but type B can be more severe in children. The influenza vaccine contains two strains of the A virus and two of the B. "[Influenza B] often gets a reduced awareness due to influenza A, probably because A is normally associated with pandemics," said Patrick Reading, director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza. Children currently make up the highest proportion of Influenza B cases in Australian hospitals but the reason for that is unknown. "It's a bit of a mystery. It's an association that we see, but we can't say there's something specific about the virus that means it infects more children over adults," Professor Reading said. Flu vaccination rates have been sliding since the COVID-19 pandemic and the group most impacted by Influenza B — the five to 16-year-old age group — now have the lowest vaccination uptake of all ages. "In 2022 we had high rates across all age groups and now we have so many unvaccinated people, which means we have a larger cohort of people who are susceptible to infection," Professor Reading said. He said this fading immunity was putting significant pressure on the health system and the worst might be still to come. "We see elevated [influenza] circulation throughout August, September and October, so it's definitely not too late to get vaccinated," he said. Millie's parents had been strict with vaccinations but once she was over the age of five they believed she was less at risk of getting seriously ill from the flu. Influenza vaccines are free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for specific groups considered to be at greatest risk, including children aged between six months and five years old. Outside of that age group the vaccine costs around $25 and becomes free again for people 65 and over. But the age restrictions may be confusing some people, said Julie Leask, a social scientist with a focus on vaccination and prevention of infectious diseases. "I don't think the risk-based strategy is working well for Australia," Professor Leask said. "When the vaccine is on the [NIP] it's a real signal to people that this vaccine is important and it's also a signal to health professionals to recommend the vaccine … we still unfortunately see some [doctors] saying the vaccine isn't a good idea for kids." For a vaccine to be free for all it must be deemed cost effective by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. The committee has previously knocked back an application for a universal free flu vaccine but Professor Leask strongly supports the idea. "I think the Australian government needs to consider whether we can make the flu vaccine free for everybody aged six months and over, because then it will become a bit more institutionalised into our systems and simple to communicate." Research has found the most common reasons people don't get their children vaccinated include: Throw in anti-vaccine rhetoric, which has ramped up since the Trump administration took office in the US, and it's a complex picture. Over the last six months, US health secretary and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr has been recirculating disproved myths about vaccines causing autism and walked back COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women. Professor Leask is convinced Mr Kennedy's messaging will cut through in Australia. "We are seeing from the US this kind of mainstreaming of misinformation … we will see the impacts of that to some degree in Australia," she said. Millie now has a prosthetic left leg and while swimming was originally part of her rehabilitation program, it is now a central part of her life. The now-14-year-old has become a competitive swimmer who has won multiple gold medals at national championships and qualified for the recent World Trials held in Adelaide. She now has her sights set on the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles. Millie's influenza battle has a hard-fought happy ending, but her parents are worried about Australia's changing attitude towards vaccination. "This growing hesitancy seems to be driven by the inability of people to decipher between evidence-based information and misinformation on social media," Mr Campbell said. "I understand the predicament because most people spend more of their life on social media but I would encourage people to speak with health experts. "Vaccination benefits not only you but the community."
ABC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Parents are warning others to think about getting their kids vaccinated for the flu.
Stephanie and Ian Campbell were "naive" about the impacts of Influenza B until their daughter was fighting for her life. They have a message to those who haven't got their kids vaccinated.
The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Ernakulam witnesses spike in influenza cases
Ernakulam has recorded a spike in cases of infection caused by influenza viruses. Over 250 influenza cases had been reported over the past month, according to data provided by the Department of Health. Two students of Union Christian College, Aluva, tested positive for H1N1 influenza as of Friday (July 18). The college authorities said necessary control measures had been initiated on the instructions of the Health authorities. A total of 194 influenza cases were reported in the district between July 1 and July 17. On July 8, as many as 31 cases were recorded. A 12-year-old girl from Ayyapmpuzha had succumbed to fever on July 8, though the authorities are yet to confirm the exact reason for the death. On July 15, 32 influenza cases were reported in Ernakulam. The common strains of the influenza virus seen included H1N1, H3N2, and Influenza B. Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, convenor of the research cell of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala, said that influenza is caused by several viruses, which circulate seasonally. 'In Kerala, the monsoon season brings two factors together. First, people crowd indoors and also travel in vehicles with windows closed due to rain. This allows respiratory viruses to spread easily. Secondly, the humid weather allows the virus to stay alive longer in the air, that is, without the tiny cough droplets drying out,' he said. He added that wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces and avoiding social visits at hospitals are two easy ways to reduce risk. 'The flu vaccine protects from severe disease. In addition, unlike COVID-19, there are effective antiviral agents available which reduce the severity of the disease if the diagnosis is made early,' he said. Some of the main symptoms include cough, tiredness, fever, runny nose, body aches, sore throat, breathlessness, and wheezing. Doctors usually advise patients to stay hydrated and to cover their mouths while coughing and sneezing. However, elderly persons with co-morbidities must take extra care.
The Spinoff
18-07-2025
- Health
- The Spinoff
When immunisation is a health target, why isn't the flu vaccine free for kids?
Although it's a common illness, the flu can be very serious – even in healthy and active young people. Many adults can access the vaccine for free, or have it reimbursed by their employer. Why don't we offer the same for pēpi and tamariki? On a Saturday in the July school holidays, Katie Iti died at Hutt Hospital from complications of Influenza B. Katie was 15 years old, in year 10 at Naenae College and loved drag racing. Speaking to Radio New Zealand, her dad Shayne described Katie as a 'sister to everyone' in the close-knit drag racing community. He said her flu symptoms were routine – body aches, a runny nose and a cough. He also urged whānau to get vaccinated against the flu. Immunisation is a health target and has been in the sights of the coalition government since the beginning of the term. The ink was drying on the coalition agreement in December 2023 when then minister of health Shane Reti announced $50 million to help Māori health providers lift immunisation rates. He noted that low immunisation rates put pēpi and tamariki at particular risk of life-threatening illnesses. 'It protects them from serious but preventable disease and reduces the risk of hospitalisation or worse – something that no parent wants to face.' In Aotearoa, the National Immunisation Schedule details the vaccines babies and children receive through infancy and childhood, and boosters available for adults. The schedule includes vaccines against serious infectious and life-threatening illnesses such as pneumococcal disease, diphtheria and measles. Schedule immunisations and their administration are free, regardless of visa or citizenship status, given the benefits of high herd immunity within populations. Despite being listed on the schedule and recommended annually for anyone aged over six months, the flu vaccine is less accessible. The flu vaccine is not free for babies and children unless they meet certain criteria for being at higher risk of serious illness. This includes having a long-term health condition like asthma, diabetes or a heart condition, or having been hospitalised previously for a respiratory illness like pneumonia, bronchiolitis or Covid-19. There are clear and obvious benefits to providing free vaccines to those most at risk. However, there are also clear and obvious benefits to providing a vaccine to anyone who wants it, if vaccination can prevent serious and life-threatening complications should a person contract an infection. The flu vaccine falls into this category. It is recommended by the immunisation schedule and strongly supported by clinical evidence. Many adults can access it for free, or have it reimbursed by their employer. Why don't we offer the same for pēpi and tamariki? For a brief two-year period recently – we did. Uptake of the flu vaccine for under-fives tripled once universal funding was introduced in 2022. Writing in May 2024, once the funding was cut, authors Samantha Marsh, Janine Paynter, Peter McInytre and Rajneeta Saraf noted: 'Focusing flu vaccination funding only on those at the highest risk is a step backwards for New Zealand and will likely reduce uptake. In contrast, Australia has funded flu vaccines for all children aged six months to five years since 2019.' Marsh et al go on to cite a report from the Child and Youth Epidemiology Service that influenza accounted for 56% of all preventable hospitalisations in children in Aotearoa – more than varicella, measles, whooping cough and meningococcal disease combined. Knowing that influenza can be serious, I had decided my son should receive the flu vaccine prior to starting daycare earlier this year. I had thought we could receive our shots at the same time from our local pharmacy – perhaps the start of an annual tradition. I was aware he would require two doses, four weeks apart, as it was his first flu vaccine. I wasn't aware that our local pharmacy didn't have a vaccinator who could vaccinate a baby under one, meaning we would have to make an appointment with the GP nurse instead. I also wasn't aware that each dose of the vaccine would cost $45. The Kids Health website advises each shot could be between $25 and $45, depending on the clinic – similar to the price for an adult, but $50-$90 in total if it is your child's first vaccine. Multiple children requiring two initial doses would quickly add up – putting this very basic protective health measure out of reach for many whānau. Although it is a common illness, the flu can be very serious, requiring hospitalisation, and in rare and tragic cases, cause death – even in healthy and active young people. If a vaccine is clinically sound, evidence-based, and recommended by the Ministry of Health in the National Immunisation Schedule – such as in the case of the influenza vaccine – it should be free for everyone, especially pēpi and tamariki.
New Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Influenza cases on the rise in Kerala; 19 deaths so far in 2025
KOCHI: With 19 deaths and 1,857 cases reported so far this year, the state is witnessing a surge in influenza virus infection. In the first nine days of July, the state reported 382 cases and six deaths. Influenza is a seasonal disease caused by environmental and other factors, with fever and body pain being the common symptoms. However, a high proportion of elderly population and youngsters with lifestyle diseases, cancer, and obesity poses a threat. According to Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, convenor of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) research cell, there are three strains of influenza viruses in circulation now. 'H1N1, H3N2 (both of which come in the Influenza A category), and Influenza B strains are circulating. Also, a vast majority of cases go undiagnosed as the symptoms are often indistinguishable from other common viral infections,' Dr Rajeev said. The reason why fever and flu-related mortality is on the rise is the prevalence of comorbidities, pointed out Dr B Ekbal, a public health expert. 'Among the elderly and youngsters, more people are suffering from lifestyle diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and even cancer. In Kerala, only 40% of the people control diabetes properly. Obesity is also a major factor,' Dr Ekbal said. The severity of the disease varies as per the patient profile. 'Those with comorbidities and among elderly, the condition can even cause death. If the host is weak, the impact will be greater,' Dr Rajeev said. Unlike Covid, influenza has effective treatment, and if symptoms are present, it is better to conduct a flu test, Dr Ekbal said. 'The number of people who undergo flu tests is low in the state. Antivirals, if taken within 48 hours, are effective too,' he said. An expert panel led by Dr Ekbal — entrusted with formulating a new immunisation policy in November 2023 — had proposed a mandatory administration of flu jabs to those aged 65 and above, but no action has been taken. The data on seasonal flu released by the National Centre for Disease Control revealed that Kerala reported the highest number of deaths due to influenza A till April 30 this year. Precautions
