Join the club for FREE to access the whole archive and other member benefits.

What is 'Aussie' flu and should we be worried?

08-Jan-2018

Key points from article :

Aussie flu or H3N2 is an influenza A virus that appears to cause more severe infections in young children and the elderly.

Flu symptoms come on very quickly and can include: fever (temperature above 38C), aches, exhaustion, dry cough, sore throat, tummy pain or diarrhoea etc.

Most people will recover in about a week and won't need any specific treatment, apart from a bit of bed rest, some paracetamol or ibuprofen and drinking plenty of fluids.

But it could be deadly for the very old, very young or people with pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Mentioned in this article:

Click on resource name for more details.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

National public health institute of the United States

Paul Cosford

Emeritus Medical Director at Public Health England.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Multidisciplinary scientific journal, official journal of the National Academy of Sciences

Public Health England (PHE)

Health protection agency.

Richard Pebody

Head of Flu Surveillance at Public Health England.

World Health Organization (WHO)

Specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health

Topics mentioned on this page:
Pandemics