Departmental Media Releases

Indigenous Australians recognised in H1N1 Influenza 09 Health Response

All of Australia is now responding to the outbreak of H1N1 Influenza 09 in the PROTECT pandemic alert phase which is concentrating our efforts on caring for the most medically vulnerable in our community.

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25 June 2009

All of Australia is now responding to the outbreak of H1N1 Influenza 09 in the PROTECT pandemic alert phase which is concentrating our efforts on caring for the most medically vulnerable in our community.

The new phase recognises that the infection with H1N1 Influenza 09 is not as severe as originally envisaged when the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (AHMPPI) was written in 2008 and that this new disease is mild in most cases, severe in some and moderate overall.

PROTECT phase places a greater focus on treating and caring for people in whom the disease may be severe.

Indigenous Australians living in remote communities are being targeted in this new health management phase with responses that are flexible to meet the individual circumstances in communities.

We know that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a higher incidence of other medical conditions and all governments have mounted an appropriate response to mitigate the effects of the disease on people whose pre-existing medical conditions make them vulnerable to H1N1 influenza 09.

I have made antivirals (tamiflu) available to the NT, South Australian and West Australian governments from the National Medical Stockpile for pre-deployment in communities. Its use will be judged clinically on a case by case basis, depending on the risk of influenza to vulnerable individuals.

Widespread use of Tamiflu as a preventive measure across remote Indigenous communities would not be an appropriate use of the available antivirals but in some cases it will be the right thing to do to if people are identified at particular risk, or to contain the disease in certain circumstances.

It is a delicate balance between protecting remote Indigenous communities from H1N1 Influenza 09 and making sure that antivirals are well targeted.

The Commonwealth is working closely with the States and Territories on responsible arrangements to protect Indigenous people, including support for Aboriginal Medical Services and plans to retrieve people from remote areas quickly if they require hospitalisation.

We are consulting with governments, health professionals and Indigenous organisations to provide appropriate, on going responses, including the development of an Indigenous appendix to the new PROTECT pandemic alert phase Annex to the national pandemic influenza plan which sets out guide lines for case management, contact management, access to antiviral treatment and personal protective equipment (including pre-positioning for remote locations), governance arrangements and a framework to assist Aboriginal Medical Services with local planning.

Media contact: Kay McNiece, 0412 132 585