Australian Influenza Surveillance Report

The Australian Influenza Surveillance Report and Activity Updates are compiled from a number of data sources, which are used to monitor influenza activity and severity in the community. These data sources include laboratory-confirmed notifications to NNDSS; influenza associated hospitalisations; sentinel influenza-like illness (ILI) reporting from general practitioners and emergency departments; ILI-related call centre calls and community level surveys; and sentinel laboratory testing results.

Page last updated: 15 October 2015

The Australian Influenza Surveillance Report is published on a fortnightly basis during the influenza season, typically between May and October. Influenza activity updates will be published outside of the seasonal period, with updates also provided during the season. A more in-depth end-of-season report is also published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence journal.

Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 09 - 12 September to 25 September 2015

Summary

  • Nationally, influenza activity has continued to decline following a seasonal peak in mid-August.
  • This fortnight, influenza activity was stable or decreasing across most regions in the country, with the exception of the Top End of the Northern Territory where activity continued to increase.
  • This year children aged less than 15 years accounted for one-third of all influenza notifications, this compares with one-quarter of all notifications in 2014. Notification rates have been highest among those aged between 5 and 9 and over 85 years with a secondary peak in those aged 35-44 years.
  • Influenza B continues to be the dominant influenza virus type circulating nationally. Notifications due to both influenza A and B declined nationally this fortnight, however increases were seen in influenza A in the Northern Territory.
  • All national systems that monitor influenza-like illness (ILI) activity continued to report decreasing activity this fortnight following a seasonal peak in mid-August. Western Australia reported unchanged ILI activity when compared with the previous fortnight. Influenza is the primary cause of ILI in the community this fortnight.
  • Hospitalisations with confirmed influenza have continued to decline following a peak in mid-August. The overall rate of influenza cases admitted directly to ICU so far this year was 7%, which is lower than the last three years (10-12%).
  • The seasonal influenza vaccines appear to be a good match for circulating strains with 77% of samples matching the trivalent seasonal vaccine (TIV).
  • The WHO released its recommendation for the composition of the 2016 southern hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccine, which included changes to the A(H3N2) and B vaccine viruses of the trivalent influenza vaccine.

Full Report

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Previous Reports and Updates

Annual Reports

Accessibility Issues

Should you encounter issues in accessing the information contained either on this webpage or within the downloadable full reports please email flu (flu@health.gov.au) or contact the Department of Health switchboard on 02 6289 1555 or 1800 020 103.

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