Latest news with #VickySheppeard
Epoch Times
21-04-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
Legionnaires' Outbreak in Sydney Causes 1 Death, 12 Infections
A patient contracting the Legionnaires' disease in Sydney has died amid an outbreak of the dangerous lung infection in Australia's most populous city. On April 17, New South Wales (NSW) Health confirmed that the person had passed away in hospital last week. 'Sadly, one of the people who contracted the disease passed away in hospital last week,' it said in a statement. 'NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones.' According to the department, there have been 12 confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease in Sydney so far. These patients were found to have spent time in the CBD and other nearby areas between March 13 and April 5. Related Stories 8/9/2024 8/5/2024 The department said Legionella bacteria, the cause of the disease, was found in a cooling tower in the CBD and health experts are testing if it is the source. The tower has also been decontaminated. 'NSW Health continues to work closely with the City of Sydney to identify, inspect and sample any cooling towers in the CBD potentially implicated in the outbreak,' said Dr. Vicky Sheppeard, a top official at NSW Health. 'To date, over 165 cooling towers have been inspected and tested. 'Most building owners have responded quickly to ensure that their cooling towers are operated and maintained in compliance with the NSW Public Health Regulation 2022.' Dr. Sheppeard said outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease could occur when bacteria from environmental sources that become contaminated. However, she noted that the fatal disease is not contagious and does not spread from person to person. Symptoms of Legionnaires' Disease According to Patients can also have muscle aches, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite and diarrhoea. While most people recover from the disease, it occasionally results in deaths. Those most susceptible to the disease are middle-aged and older people, especially people who smoke or have chronic lung diseases, as well as people with compromised immune systems. The latest wave of Legionnaires' disease in Sydney comes following a smaller outbreak of the infection in January that caused seven people to be hospitalised. Prior to that,
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Busy city-centre on alert after legionnaires' hits six
Hundreds of thousands of people have been warned to monitor for symptoms after a potentially deadly bacterial outbreak in a major city centre. Six people not known to each other have been hospitalised after developing Legionnaires' disease. Health authorities are yet to trace the source but say each person had spent time in Sydney's city centre over the past three weeks. NSW Health has advised people who have been in the area in the past 10 days - numbering many hundreds of thousands - be on the lookout for symptoms of the disease, including fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. It can lead to severe chest infections such as pneumonia. Symptoms can develop up to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria, often caused by contaminated water particles in cooling systems entering the air and being breathed in, public health physician Vicky Sheppeard said. "Those most at risk include elderly people, people with underlying lung or other serious health conditions, and smokers," she said. Authorities are reviewing maintenance records for cooling towers to prioritise inspections and sampling to trace the source. More than 100 people developed the disease after an outbreak from cooling towers in Melbourne in August. Two people, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 90s, died. At least seven people were hospitalised from a Sydney outbreak in January 2024, while another three were diagnosed with the disease from an outbreak near Sydney University a month later. The disease is not spread from person to person but has a fatality rate of about 10 per cent.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New measles alert for state capital
A health alert has been issued after a traveller returned from Vietnam and visited several locations in Sydney's south while they were infected with measles last week. People who were on-board Jetstar flight JQ62 that departed Ho Chi Minh City at 10.40pm on March 9 and were at the Sydney International Airport baggage area from 11am the following day have been told to check for symptoms. The infected person also went to the 169 Cafe in Randwick and Ooshman Maroubra at Pacific Square on March 10. Later that week they attended the Matraville Medical Complex, Healthsave Pharmacy and the Prince of Wales Emergency Department between March 13 and 15. South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Director of Public Health Dr Vicky Sheppeard urged people to make sure their vaccinations were up to date, especially if they were travelling overseas. Measles outbreaks were occurring in several regions around the world, including a large outbreak in Vietnam, Dr Sheppard said. 'Anyone born after 1965 needs to ensure they have had two doses of measles vaccine,' she said. 'The measles vaccine can prevent the disease even after exposure, if given early enough.' Dr Sheppard said measles was a vaccine preventable disease that spreads through the air when an infectious person coughs or sneezes. 'Symptoms to watch out for include fever, runny nose, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body,' she said. 'It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure, so it's important for people who visited these locations to look out for symptoms up until April 2.' People who develop symptoms were advised to call ahead to their GP or emergency department to ensure they do not spend time in the waiting room with other patients.
