SYDNEY - A two-year-old NSW boy is the sixth child to die from the virulent influenza epidemic sweeping across Australia.
NSW Health Director of Communicable Diseases Jeremy McAnulty tonight said the toddler died at his parents' home in the state's central west last Friday.
Preliminary tests show the death was probably caused by Influenza A virus.
Five other children, including three in Western Australia, one in Queensland and one in Victoria, have also been reported as dying from illness associated with Influenza A.
And the virus has also taken the life of a 37-year-old Queensland man Glen Kindness.
NSW Health urges people to take free influenza vaccinations from GPs.
"This tragic death is a reminder to all people that NSW and the rest of Australia is experiencing one of the worst flu seasons for some years," Dr McAnulty said.
"Influenza is not like a common cold. It affects all ages and deaths in children are very rare indeed, so it is important to put this tragic case in context, he said.
Dr McAnulty said parents should monitor children with flu symptoms, especially with a fever or breathing problems, very carefully.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today said his state had been gripped by its worst flu epidemic in six years.
He said drug companies had been contacted to rush supplies of anti-viral drug Tamiflu to chemists who said they were unable to get supplies of the flu treatment.
Two people have died in Queensland - a four-year-old boy and Mr Kindness, although the state's chief health officer Jeannette (Jeannette) Young said his case was yet to be confirmed by the coroner.
So far, there have been 2,128 cases of influenza notified to Queensland Health, more than three times the 663 notifications in the same period last year.
However, flu today was ruled out as being involved in the death of two people aged in their 30s in a hospital north of Brisbane.
Dr Young said it would be several months before Queensland Health had full data on this year's epidemic.
"It sounds awful to say but the deaths are in very low numbers," she said.
"So it really depends on individual circumstances as to whether or not more flu in the community results in more deaths.
"We've not seen big outbreaks in the elderly group where we would actually expect more deaths."
A NSW Health spokeswoman earlier today said the department was continually monitoring any flu cases in the state.
"Tamiflu is available by doctor prescriptions in NSW and (the department's) stockpile is available only for pandemic influenza or bird flu," she said.
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