CANBERRS: Australia is on track to set its highest number of influenza infections in recent years.
According to the latest update from the Australian Influenza Surveillance Report, there had been 147,155 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases and 54 influenza-associated deaths as of June 19 this year.
Almost 1,000 cases have required hospitalization for treatment, of which 6.1 percent were admitted to intensive care.
“From mid-April 2022, the weekly number of notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza reported in Australia has exceeded the 5-year average,” said the report.
In the latest report, the Department of Health identified children as the population most at risk of contracting influenza.
“In 2022 to date, people aged 5-9 years, children aged younger than 5 years, and people aged 10-19 years have the highest notification rates,” it said.
