Stern warning over virus keeping Australians bedridden ‘for weeks’

Doctors are warning of an increase in the number of cases of nasty winter viruses such as flu. People who are infected complain of being confined to bed for weeks.

The number of cases of whooping cough, flu and gastrointestinal complaints has increased sharply this year. Children in particular are affected and the pressure on some hospitals is ‘unprecedented’.

The number of flu infections in 2024 is already 27 percent higher than in the first six months of last year, with more than 170,000 cases, 29 percent of which are in children under the age of nine.

A leading GP said vaccine fatigue left over from the Covid pandemic had contributed to the spike. He urged Australians to roll up their sleeves as some strains of the virus appear particularly potent this year.

Michael Clements, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners for rural areas, said the numbers affected were likely to be much higher because many people were not getting tested.

Steph Pase, who runs a company that sells organizational products, took to social media to share her experiences after suffering from the flu for two weeks last month, which turned into pneumonia.

“Guys, you don’t want influenza A,” the young mother said.

“I’ve never been this sick in my life, and I’ve had Covid. I’m someone who can get sick as a dog and refuse to stay in bed. I need to get up, but this thing just kicked my ass,” she said.

Steph Pase said she was ‘kicked in the ass’ by a particularly bad case of influenza A that left her in the emergency room

Dr Joel Ten, a spokesperson for the National Asthma Council Australia and a GP in Melbourne, said he had “certainly heard” that some flu strains have been severe this year.

“I’ve seen some patients who have reported having quite severe symptoms, but it depends on the person,” he said Yahoo News.

Mrs Pase said she was feeling better, but then the flu came back with full force.

“It’s no joke, it’s 20 times worse than Covid,” she said.

“If you think you have it, go to the doctor.”

She later said that her flu had turned into pneumonia.

My doctor told me to come in because my heart rate had been high for three days.

“He sent me to the hospital and I was in the emergency room for a couple of hours. They gave me an IV with antibiotics and fluids plus two loads of antibiotics to take home.”

Sydney resident Natalie Hunt says she has been bedridden for three weeks with a chest infection, despite getting plenty of rest and eating healthily.

‘This is the longest and nastiest illness I have had since I was a child… green mucus on chest, coughing, fatigue, swollen glands, lower back pain and blocked ears.

‘When I had Covid, I had acute symptoms, but they only lasted a few days. Now I feel like I’m going to recover, but I just wake up the same.’

According to Dr Ten, the virus may appear ‘subjectively’ worse, because many people have been vaccinated against Covid, which reduced symptoms, but do not get vaccinated against the flu.

Cases are expected to increase as the winter virus reaches warmer areas in August or September.

“We are concerned that this problem will continue to spread and potentially overwhelm hospital systems,” Dr. Clements said.

Australia has seen more than 170,000 cases of flu this year, an increase of almost 30 percent on last year (pictured shows a computer graphic of the flu virus)

His comments echo those of New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park, who attributed the “unprecedented” demand on emergency departments in his state to a 30 percent rise in flu cases, coupled with fewer GPs working in the community.

Victoria’s Health Department is warning that flu vaccination rates across all age groups, including children, remain “low” despite a six-fold increase in emergency department visits due to flu from April to June.

According to Dr. Clements, there is likely no single cause for the increase in flu, but it could be due to lower herd immunity, a previous COVID-19 infection that lowered immunity, increased international travel and people going to work sick.

The number of whooping cough cases has already risen above pre-pandemic levels, with more than 12,900 cases in 2024. The total number of infections in 2023 is a quarter of that.

More than 60 percent of cases were in children under 14. The New South Wales Health Service is warning of “unusually high” infections with whooping cough and pneumonia in schoolchildren.

“These are peaks, we certainly have to recognize that these are large increases compared to recent years,” Dr. Clements said.

The number of cases of a specific stomach strain has now tripled compared to 2023, to more than 11,700.

Cryptosporidiosis, a type of gastroenteritis caused by a parasite, spreads in swimming pools. People with symptoms are advised to stay out of the water for at least four weeks, as they can still spread the virus, which can survive chlorine.