Australia's risk of swine flu expected early 2010

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New wave of swine flu expected early 2010 By Charmaine Kane

Posted December 4, 2009 14:00:00

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young says she expects the second

wave of the swine flu pandemic to hit the state in February or March next year.

She told a medical conference on the Gold Coast today the disease caused a

thousand deaths in the northern hemisphere last week but Australia's risk is

lower because the population is much smaller.

She says a new vaccine offers safe, effective protection but only 10 per cent of

Queenslanders have been immunised so far.

" We know through a lot of extensive modelling that has been done that if we can

get 40 per cent of the population immunised then we will significantly reduce

the impact, " Dr Young said.

" Otherwise we will see a very similar flu season to what we saw last year with

about the same morbidity, the same mortality and the same admissions to

hospitals and ICU. "

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/04/2762173.htm

Dr Young says a new vaccine offers safe, effective protection but only 10 per

cent of Queenslanders have been immunised so far.

Dr Young says a new vaccine offers safe, effective protection but only 10 per

cent of Queenslanders have been immunised so far.