SA flu cases increased 70 per cent
Flu cases sweeping through South Australia are packing emergency departments with suffering patients and creating 'a perfect storm' in GP clinics as numbers surge 70 per cent higher than last year.
New figures released by Health Minister Chris Picton show across the state there have been 10,569 flu cases reported so far this year – 70 per cent more than the 6212 cases at the same time last year.
In the past week alone, SA health authorities had recorded a sharp rise in numbers with 1627 new cases, a 28 per cent increase on the 1268 new cases reported the week before and 918 cases two weeks ago.
Australian Medical Association SA president Peter Subramaniam said doctors were telling the industry group that the SA's escalating flu case numbers meant GP practice appointment schedules were fully booked days in advance.
This meant doctor surgeries across the state were struggling to accommodate patients at short notice.
'We're seeing a perfect storm of increased patient presentations and reduced practice capacity due to healthcare workers falling ill,' Associate Professor Subramaniam said.
Mr Picton reported the high number of flu patients was putting intense pressure on medical emergency departments.
Friday's figures showed that 1,042 South Australians had been hospitalised with flu this year compared to 673 at the same time last year, a massive 55 per cent increase.
As presentations increased, Mr Picton urged South Australians to get vaccinated to reduce their own health risk and to help stop the spread.
'Those of particular concern are children under five and older South Australians, especially those in residential care. They are most at risk of flu complications,' he said.
Common complications of flu in children include ear infections, pneumonia and croup.
The latest figures showed that SA had currently reached almost the equal highest number of weekly flu cases of any year in the past five years – the highest number was 1653 in August, 2024.
Despite SA having the highest uptake of the flu vaccine on mainland Australia at 32.1 per cent, Mr Picton said 'we still need more people to roll up their sleeves'.
SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said there were several reasons why flu cases were so high.
Every influenza season was different with some more severe than others with Ms Spurrier blaming aspects of human behaviour, circulating strains and the 'closeness of vaccine match' impacting figures.
The AMA said the surge in reported cases reinforced why annual influenza vaccination was critical.
It wanted the state to have co-ordinated action across government, healthcare providers and the community to protect SA's most vulnerable and to support 'our stretched healthcare workforce'.
Flu vaccinations were free for those most likely to end up in hospital including children aged under five years of age, those aged over 65 years, pregnant women, Aboriginal people and those with underlying health conditions.
Originally published as Health Minister Chris Picton releases latest flu figures showing skyrocketing cases are causing a 'perfect storm' for GP surgeries and hospitals
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
Humble ham sandwich back on the menu amid South Australia's junk food advertising ban
Claims that 'healthy' foods would be included in a state government's ban on junk food advertising have been dismissed. The South Australian Government said its advertising ban — which came into force on government-owned public transport on Tuesday — targeted processed meats, chocolate, lollies, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks and chips in a bid to curb childhood obesity. However, there were claims that 'healthy' foods — such as rice crackers, soy milk and even the humble ham sandwich — would fall victim to the advertising ban, according to a report by Newscorp. Australian Association of National Advertisers CEO Josh Faulks told the outlet the ban was confusing. 'The government has not been able to clearly articulate what is in and what is out of their banned list and has told businesses to submit their ads to an expert panel for assessment if they are unsure,' Faulks said. SA Health and Wellbeing Minister Chris Picton has said the ban only targeted highly processed foods containing high fat, high salt and high sugar. 'South Australia has become the second place in the country to no longer put junk food ads on our public transport,' Picton told 'We need to take action against junk food because the obesity crisis has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable disease.' Picton accused the AANA of trying to undermine the advertising ban. 'Unfortunately the advertising industry lobbyists have opposed these junk food restrictions from the beginning,' he said. 'Because they can't win the actual argument about junk food advertising they are concocting spurious click-bait hypotheticals instead. 'The SA Government will continue to take public health advice from the Cancer Council and Heart Foundation and not advertising industry lobbyists.' SA Health said the foods targeted by the advertising ban are set out by Council of Australian Governments Health Council's National interim guide to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food and drink promotion, and based on Australian dietary guidelines. It includes sweetened drinks such as fruit and vegetable juice with added sugars along with soft drinks, confectionery; fatty, sugary or salted snack foods; and prepackaged unhealthy meals including many fast foods. understands products such as soy milk and rice crackers can still be advertised as long as they do not contain additives such as sugars. Preventive Health SA data reveals 66 per cent of South Australian adults and 37.1 per cent of children are overweight or living with obesity, which can put people at greater risk of many diseases and health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. South Australia has the nation's highest rate of diabetes. The AANA had told the government's ban was confusing and claimed it was 'effectively discouraging people from consuming what are widely considered to be nutritious core foods'. 'We fully support measures that encourage healthier choices but the implementation of these policies must be based on credible, evidence-based criteria,' Faulks told the outlet. 'The government has not been able to clearly articulate what is in and what is out of their banned list and has told businesses to submit their ads to an expert panel for assessment if they are unsure. This list should be science-based, objective and create certainty for business, not create more confusion.'
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Flu cases, hospitalisations on the rise as SA government urges for more vaccinations
Reported flu cases across South Australia have spiked 70 per cent this year, according to government data, prompting fears about the health system's capacity to cope with more hospital presentations. The state government released data on Friday showing there had been 10,569 reported flu cases so far in 2025, up from 6,212 at the same time last year. It comes after a total of 1,627 new flu cases were reported in the past week, which is almost the highest number of cases reported in any week for the past five years, according to the government. The number of people hospitalised due to the flu has also increased to 1,042 this year, compared to 673 at this point last year. Health Minister Chris Picton said the flu case spike was causing two problems: an increase in hospital presentations and more health workers taking sick leave. "We have seen a spike in hospitalisations and significantly more hospitalisations because of the flu than the same time last year," Mr Picton said. "And also, we've seen more absences in terms of many of those workplaces because the workers themselves have the flu." Mr Picton said workplace flu absences were affecting GPs, doctors, and aged care workers. He said there had "never been a more important time to make sure that you're vaccinated for flu". "That's why we're focusing our efforts particularly in terms of young kids, but also older people and people who have chronic health conditions." South Australia's take-up of the flu vaccine is the highest of any mainland states at 32.1 per cent of the population, according to the state government. That is higher than Victoria at 29.9 per cent, New South Wales at 26.8 per cent and Western Australia and Queensland at 25.8 per cent, the government said. The flu spike comes as the state's hospital system continues to struggle with demand. Ambulance ramping hours soared to their third-highest level on record in May, with patients spending 4,791 hours waiting outside public hospitals for treatment. The data, the most recent released by the state government, was taken before the onset of winter and the spike in flu cases Last year's winter saw ambulance ramping reach record levels, with the paramedic's union fearing 2025 will be even worse. Paul Ekkelboom, general secretary of the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA), said the flu figures were "alarming". "History tells us it's only going to get worse from here," he said, adding it was "only a month into winter". "It's placing a huge strain on our health system, every winter there is an increase in the demand and this includes flu cases." Mr Ekkelboom said "from all accounts" ramping hours were going up, adding that ambulance crews were dealing with fatigue and burnout. "We are concerned it's only a matter of time before this situation, where demand can't be met, results in negative patient outcomes," he said.
Herald Sun
a day ago
- Herald Sun
Venus Williams reveals health battle that left her ‘on the locker room floor' before Wimbledon
Don't miss out on the headlines from Conditions. Followed categories will be added to My News. Venus Williams has opened up about the painful heath condition that left her 'laying on the locker room floor' before Wimbledon. The 45-year-old tennis ace shared her battle with fibroids, non-cancerous tumours that grow in the muscular wall of the uterus. 'My symptoms were extreme pain. You know, getting so much in pain that maybe you throw up. Or you can't get off the ground … I missed practices because of that. Just, you know, hugging the toilet,' Williams told NBC's Today Show. The seven-time Grand Slam winner said at first she was dismissive of the symptoms and simply put up with them, revealing she suffered a bad episode before winning her sixth doubles match with sister Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2016. '(I was) just laying on the floor in the locker room. Like, it's gonna pass, it's gonna pass. And thank God Serena got the doctor. And I was able to get up and eat and start playing (which was) bad luck for our opponents,' she said. Williams also has Sjogren's syndrome, a condition she made public in 2011, which only delayed her diagnosis. 'I live with an auto-immune disease. So I thought maybe it was auto-immune anaemia or something like that. But really it was what I was dealing with inside, which was fibroids,' she told Today. She had previously been diagnosed with fibroids but doctors who monitored the growths using ultrasounds never identified how large they were – nor did they link them to her pain. Small fibroids are usually painless, but larger growths can cause pain, swelling, excessive bleeding, GI issues, and bloating, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'I didn't know that they were really big,' Williams said. 'I didn't know that they were growing and growing and growing.' Williams said her bleeding was so heavy at times that she often wore layers to prevent a bleed-through. 'One doctor told me (when I was 37) … this is a part of ageing. This is normal.' Another told her to get a hysterectomy. 'I've never been so sad in my life,' she recalled. 'I had never been running to have kids but I always wanted to have a choice and to have that taken away is just frightening.' She eventually connected with Dr Tara Shirazian from NYU's Langone Health's Center for Fibroid Care, who performed a myomectomy on Williams a year ago. The procedure removed the fibroids while keeping the uterus intact. 'I'm sharing now because I was outraged that I didn't know this was possible. I didn't know what was wrong with me,' Williams said. 'No one should have to go through this.' Meanwhile, Williams hinted at a return to the court saying she is 'not playing badly so you never know'. 'I've been taking this time to rest and recover and live my life and be, you know, a happy person without fibroids,' she said. Originally published as Venus Williams reveals battle with fibroids left her 'on the locker room floor' before Wimbledon
