Vic: Projected death toll based on best medical advice: Roxon
Fri Jul 17 19:11:54 EST 2009
MELBOURNE, July 17 AAP - Australia should brace itself for more fatalities during the current swine flu pandemic, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has warned.
The national death toll now stands at 31, with 14 reported in Victoria, 10 in NSW, two each in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and one each in Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia.
The latest count also shows 191 people diagnosed with swine flu in hospitals across the country, 74 of them in in intensive care units.
National health authorities have ordered 21 million doses of swine flu vaccine, enough to vaccinate half the population if two doses are required.
But an immunisation program is not scheduled to start until October.
In Adelaide next week, Biopharmaceutical company CSL will start clinical vaccine trials on 240 healthy adults.
Ms Roxon also said on Friday a projected toll of 6,000 Australian deaths from swine flu was an honest assessment based on the best medical advice.
She was defending criticism that the government had fuelled fears by flagging potential death statistics, the day after she admitted the worst-case scenario from swine flu deaths was around 6,000.
But she has dismissed as "ludicrous" a prediction drawn from a 2005 influenza pandemic action plan that the toll could reach 10,000.
Her projection of 6,000 was based on no medical intervention, including antiviral treatment for people contracting the virus, and vaccines.
"I'm going to be honest with the public," Ms Roxon told reporters on Friday.
"I'm not going to stand in front of the Australian community and say that we don't have advice that tells us if we do nothing that the worst-case scenario is 6,000 fatalities.
"They're based on the best medical advice, they're based on the worst-case scenario."
Ms Roxon stressed the community should steel itself for more fatalities even though every effort was being made to contain the numbers.
"With the provision of antivirals, the fabulous hospital services we have, the very good work GPs are doing across the country, I am sure that those figures will be way above where we ultimately end up," she said.
It was revealed on Friday that Adelaide United defender Robert Cornthwaite has swine flu, the second player from the A-League soccer club to contract the virus, after newly recruited striker Lloyd Owusu was also diagnosed.
