2009 swine flu pandemic in Australia

Further information: 2009 flu pandemic by country, 2009 flu pandemic timeline, and 2009 flu pandemic summary
Main article: 2009 flu pandemic

2009 swine flu pandemic in Australia
  Deaths
  Confirmed cases
  5000+ confirmed cases
  500+ Confirmed cases
  50+ Confirmed cases
  5+ Confirmed cases
  1+ Confirmed cases
  1+ deaths
  5+ deaths
  20+ deaths
Influenza A H1N1 2009 swine flu pandemic evolution in Australia
DiseaseH1N1 Influenza (Human Swine Influenza)
Virus strainH1N1
First outbreakThought to be Central Mexico
Arrival date27 April 2009
Confirmed cases37,537[1]
Suspected cases‡n/a
Deaths
191[1]
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.
Cases by region
Last update: December 2009
Sub-division Cases Deaths
Laboratory
confirmed 		Suspected‡
Totals 37,537[1] n/a 191[1]
Australian Capital Territory 939[2] n/a n/a
New South Wales 5,078[3] n/a n/a
Northern Territory 1,456[4] n/a n/a
Queensland 11,528[5] n/a n/a
South Australia 8,944[6] n/a n/a
Tasmania 3,204 n/a n/a
Victoria 3,058[7] n/a n/a
Western Australia 4,499[8] n/a n/a

Australia had 37,537 confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza 2009 (Human Swine Influenza) and 191 deaths reported by Department of Health[1] but only 77 deaths reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.[9] The actual numbers are much larger, as only serious cases warranted being tested and treated at the time. Suspected cases have not been reported by the Department of Health and Ageing since 18 May 2009 because they were changing too quickly to report.[10] Sources say that as many as 1600 Australians may have actually died as a result of this virus.[11][12] On 23rd of May 2009 the federal government classified the outbreak as CONTAIN phase[13] except in Victoria where it was escalated to the SUSTAIN phase on 3rd of June 2009.[14] This gave government authorities permission to close schools in order to slow the spread of the disease.[13] On 17 June 2009 the Department of Health and Ageing introduced a new phase called PROTECT. This modified the response to focus on people with high risk of complications from the disease. Testing at airports was discontinued. The national stockpile of antiviral drugs were no longer made available to people with the flu unless there were more than mild symptoms or a high risk of dying.[15]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Australian influenza report 2009–12 – 18 December 2009 (#32/09)". Department of Health. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Influenza Pandemic (H1N1) 2009". 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza Update". 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  4. ^ "H1N1 Influenza – Human Swine Flu". Northern Territory Government Department of Health and Families. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Pandemic in Queensland 2009 weekly report 38" (PDF). 21 September 2009. table 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Stopping the spread of Flu starts here". 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  7. ^ "H1N1 Influenza 09 (Human Swine Flu)". 30 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  8. ^ "Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 – Human Swine Flu". Government of Western Australia. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  10. ^ Nicola Roxon, Minister for Health and Ageing (Australia) (27 May 2009). Press conference (Television production). Australia: Network Ten. Event occurs at 2:55. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  11. ^ Dawood, FS; Iuliano, AD; Reed, C; Meltzer, MI; Shay, DK; Cheng, PY; Bandaranayake, D; Breiman, RF; Brooks, WA; Buchy, P; Feikin, DR; Fowler, KB; Gordon, A; Hien, NT; Horby, P; Huang, QS; Katz, MA; Krishnan, A; Lal, R; Montgomery, JM; Mølbak, K; Pebody, R; Presanis, AM; Razuri, H; Steens, A; Tinoco, YO; Wallinga, J; Yu, H; Vong, S; Bresee, J; Widdowson, MA (September 2012). "Estimated global mortality associated with the first 12 months of 2009 pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus circulation: a modelling study". The Lancet. Infectious Diseases. 12 (9): 687–95. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(12)70121-4. PMID 22738893.
  12. ^ "Swine flu death toll may be revised up". The Australian.(subscription required)
  13. ^ a b "Rudd defends swine flu threat upgrade". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 May 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  14. ^ Ryan, Siobhain (3 June 2009). "Victoria raises swine flu risk alert to sustain". The Australian. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  15. ^ Nicola Roxon (17 June 2009). "New Pandemic Phase Protect" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2011.