Influenza Activity Surveillance & Graph 2024
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This report provides a summary of influenza surveillance data collected from around Australia and New Zealand. Regional reporting in some areas ceases when influenza activity is low (out of season). Please note that many people do not get tested for influenza and that there may also be some delays in reporting confirmed influenza cases.
Therefore data presented here may be underestimating influenza activity.
National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
Update for 15 July 2024
It is important to note that data reported from the various influenza surveillance systems may not represent an accurate reflection of influenza activity. There may be some delays in the reporting systems. Also, many who become unwell with influenza-like symptoms do not present to their doctor and are not tested for influenza.
Results should be interpreted with caution.
National notification data (NNDSS):
There have been 196,478 notifications of laboratory confirmed influenza reported to the NNDSS in the year to 15 July.
Total notifications from each state and territory are as follows:
| ACT | 2,359 |
| NSW | 110,556 |
| NT | 2,049 |
| QLD | 30,392 |
| SA | 8,974 |
| TAS | 1,462 |
| VIC | 34,893 |
| WA | 5,793 |
For more national data: National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
Australian Influenza Surveillance Report
https://nindss.health.gov.au/pbi-dashboard/
National Vaccination Coverage Rates
Influenza vaccination is recommended for all Australians aged 6 months and older. Flu vaccination reporting to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) is mandatory allowing coverage rates to be monitored.
NCIRS has commenced reporting of influenza vaccination coverage for the 2024 influenza season, which will continue until the end of August.
For more information visit NCIRS here
Australian Capital Territory
Reporting period Friday 05 July 2024 to Thursday 11 July 2024 inclusive
Total influenza cases:
- Current reporting period: 394
- 2024 total: 2,221
- Rate per 100,000 for reporting period: 84.4
For more information:
https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/updates/act-covid-19-statistics
https://www.act.gov.au/directorates-and-agencies/act-health/strategies-programs-and-reports/reports/repiratory-illness-reporting-in-the-act
New South Wales
Weekly influenza information is available in the COVID-19 weekly surveillance report.
Week ending 06 July 2024
Note that many people with influenza in the community do not get tested for influenza, and that there may be delays in the reporting of confirmed influenza cases. Therefore data presented here may tend to under-represent current influenza activity in NSW.
Summary:
- Respiratory virus transmission and testing patterns over the next few weeks are likely to be impacted by school holidays in NSW.
- There is likely to be continued influenza activity for the next few weeks.
- Test positivity for influenza, which is a key indicator of activity, has increased to 26%.
For more information: NSW Health – Respiratory Surveillance Reports
Queensland
Reporting Period: 1 January – 7 July 2024
Total influenza cases YTD (1 Jan – 7 July 2024): 27,629
- 27,629 notifications during the reporting period.
- 26,679 (97%) were type A only and 920 (3%) were type B.
- 3,168 (11%) were aged less than 5 years including 147 (<1%) aged less than 6 months while 4,132 (15%) were aged 65 years and over.
- 2,648 (10%) were admitted to hospital, 1,130 (43%) of these were aged 65 years and older.
South Australia
Update for the week ending at 6 July 2024
Count of influenza notifications in the week ending 6 July 2024: 1317
For more information: Communicable Diseases Control Branch
Tasmania
Report for the fortnight ending 7 July 2024
Summary
- Influenza activity is increasing in all age groups and in all regions of the state.
Influenza notifications for week ending 7 July: 268
Influenza rate*: 46.8
* Notification rate per 100,000 population.
For more information: https://www.health.tas.gov.au/publications/respiratory-surveillance-report
Victoria
15 July 2024
Victoria, local public health areas and local government areas surveillance summary report
Total influenza cases (YTD): 35,059
For more information: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory or Victorian State Health Department
Western Australia
Week ending 7 July 2024
Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary:
- Influenza notifications increased and remained above the seasonal threshold in the past week.
- In the past week the number of influenza cases notified to the Department of Health increased by 35% to 691 cases, remaining above the seasonal threshold.
- In the year to date, the number of influenza notifications, hospitalisations, and deaths* were lower than the previous five-year average. Thirty-four percent of notifications were in those aged less than 15 years.
- The number of influenza cases reported as hospitalised in the past week increased in both adults and children.
For more information: WA Virus WAtch
Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN), FluTracking and New Zealand
Update for 3rd June — 16th June 2024
ASPREN is a national syndromic surveillance program co-ordinated by the Discipline of General Practice at the University of Adelaide and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. One of the conditions under surveillance is influenza like illness (ILI). General practitioners participating in the ASPREN program contribute data on the proportion of consultations which are ILI related.
NATIONAL SUMMARY
Influenza-like-illness levels are increasing
22 Cases of influenza have been detected in this reporting period:
- 21 x Influenza A
- 1 x Influenza B
18% Influenza positivity during the reporting period.
92 Cases of influenza have been detected this year:
- 83 x Influenza A
- 9 x Influenza B
SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE REPORTING
Reports were received from 328 reporters from 8 states and territories during the reporting period. During weeks 23 and 24 reporters saw a total of 46,280 patients.
INFLUENZA-LIKE-ILLNESS (ILI)
Nationally, ILI notifications increased during the period with 390 notifications being reported in weeks 23—24. ILI rates reported in this period were 8 and 11 cases per 1000 consultations (weighted). This was higher than the previous fortnight where rates were 9 cases per 1000 consultations in weeks 21 and 22. For the same reporting period in 2023, ILI rates were lower at 7 and 8 cases per 1000 consultations for weeks 23 and 24 respectively.
FluTracking
FluTracking is an online health surveillance system which aims to detect epidemics of influenza. It is a joint initiative of The University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Area Health Service (NSW Health) and Hunter Medical Research Institute. Participation is voluntary and involves the completion of a weekly online survey during the influenza season. Data are collected on basic demographics, symptoms of ILI and absenteeism.
Reporting week Monday 01 July 2024- Sunday 07 July 2024
(Data used in this report received up to 09:00 AM, Thursday 11 July)
Summary:
- Respiratory illness levels have decreased this week.
- 51,464participants this week
Respiratory illness activity*:
*Respiratory illness activity is defined as fever & cough for this report
2.6% this week and 2.7% last week
Respiratory illness activity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants:
2.5% this week and 2.6% last week
Respiratory illness severity:
27.2% of participants with fever and cough sought medical advice this week.
New Zealand
Week ending 7 July 2024
Summary
Indicators of influenza-like (ILI) illness in the community remain at levels expected for this time of year. In the week ending 7 July the rate of ILI-related calls to Healthline is lower than at the same time in 2023, but higher than the historical average. Healthline call rates and HealthStat GP ILI consultation rates are highest among young children. The rate of HealthStat GP ILI consultations in the week ending 30 June was lower than at the same time in 2023 (note that HealthStat data currently has a one-week lag).
Influenza A/H1 and A/H3 viruses are predominant and now co-circulating in the community, with increasing A/H3 circulation in recent weeks. There were six respiratory viral illness outbreaks reported in the week ending 7 July. Three outbreaks were in early childhood education (ECE) centres: two in Wellington (RSV and rhinovirus detected in one), and one in Dunedin. Three outbreaks were reported in aged residential care (ARC) facilities: one in Rotorua (RSV detected), one in Invercargill (RSV detected) and one in Wellington (influenza detected).
Severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance currently occurs year-round in respiratory wards in Auckland hospitals. In the week ending 7 July, the SARI hospitalisation rate moved into the high activity range. Recent increasing SARI activity has been predominantly associated with increasing influenza-related SARI. However, RSV-related SARI admissions remains elevated in infants. In the week ending 7 July, the influenza-positive SARI hospitalisation rate has increased to the high activity range and is at the highest level seen since 2022.
Influenza A viruses have predominated, with both A/H1 and A/H3 detected in recent weeks. The SARS-CoV-2-positive SARI hospitalisationrate is similar to the same time in 2023. This does not necessarily reflect the trend in all COVID-19 related hospital admissions monitored by Health New Zealand, as different definitions are used: https://tewhatuora.shinyapps.io/covid19/
Note that the results presented are based on data available as at 11 July 2024. These may be updated as more data becomes available, so should be regarded as provisional at this stage.
ASPREN: For more information: ASPREN
Flu Tracking: For more information, or to enroll: Flu Tracking
New Zealand reporting: For more information see here