Cathy Thomas

I always find it interesting to look at the data of confirmed cases of influenza at the end of every year in Australia. The graph below provides a summary of surveillance data collected from around Australia since 2012. Fascinating to compare the last two years where there were 194,919 more confirmed cases of flu cases … Read more

  The WHO (World Health Organisation) recently released its recommendations for the 2019 flu vaccine: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage); and a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage). This represents 2 strain changes from this years (2018) flu vaccine. WHO convenes in February and September each year to … Read more

Fact check: Are your chances of getting the flu after a vaccination only decreased by 1 to 2 per cent? Updated Thu at 11:33am PHOTO: Professor of Public Health at Bond University, Chris Del Mar, has called into question the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine. (ABC News: Aneeta Bhole) The claim Australia is well into the midst of … Read more

It killed tens of millions, and it remains the deadliest event ever recorded. Yet 100 years on from the dreaded Spanish flu, we’re still not safe from pandemics – or even on top of seasonal influenza. By Fenella Souter Good Weekend Sydney Morning Herald 21 APRIL 2018 Seattle police wear protective masks during the 1918 flu … Read more

Flu season is well underway in the Northern Hemisphere and reports of sudden deaths continue to send shock waves around the world. Every year the flu can severely effect the elderly and very young but why does the flu kill some healthy young adults ?  This article explains why 

Flu vaccine won’t definitely stop you from getting the flu, but it’s more important than you think While the flu vaccine cuts your chance of coming down with influenza, that’s not the whole story. from www.shutterstock.com Allen Cheng, Monash University and Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney As we head towards a southern hemisphere winter, many … Read more

The WHO met in September 2017 to decide the four viral flu strains that will be contained in next year’s flu vaccine. WHO recommends that quadrivalent (4 strain) influenza vaccines for use in the 2018 southern hemisphere influenza season contain the following viruses: – A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 (H3N2)-like virus B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus. B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus, a … Read more

2017 Seasonal Flu vaccine Each year the World Health Organisation recommends to the Australian Government the four viral strains to be included in the seasonal flu vaccine according to the data they have collected on flu activity around the world. The WHO recommended one strain change (A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus) for the Quadrivalent Flu Vaccine to … Read more

  2016 Seasonal Flu Vaccines explained In the past years the seasonal flu vaccine (trivalent) has been designed to protect against three different flu viruses and included 2 x influenza A type viruses and 1 x B virus. Experts had to choose one B virus, even though there are two very different lineages of B … Read more

Top 10 mainstream diet myths debunked Sarah Berry Published: February 16, 2015 http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/top-10-mainstream-diet-myths-debunked-20150213-13e1bo.html “Dietary advice does not merely need a review; it should not have been introduced.” This is the arresting conclusion made in a new review published in BMJ’s Open Heart journal. In this instance, the researchers are referring specifically to the fat recommendations in … Read more