Flu crisis linked to housing issuesGEORGINA STYLIANOU
Last updated 05:00 19/07/2012
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Better houses would lead to fewer deaths in winter, a Canterbury medical officer of health says.
Canterbury is three weeks into an influenza outbreak, with more than 250 cases confirmed so far this year.
Canterbury District Health Board medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey said cold, damp and overcrowded houses may not have caused the outbreak but would have "contributed to general sickness".
He said there was a lack of quality properties in Canterbury, and people were living in cramped conditions. This could lead to increased respiratory illnesses and infectious diseases such as whooping cough, tuberculosis and rheumatic fever.
"Whether or not the current flu crisis can be attributed to the housing issues . . . well, it's difficult to say," he said. "You have to remember that we didn't have a flu outbreak last year and things were acutally worse then."
The flu outbreak would not reach its peak for another two to three weeks, he said.
Humphrey said the region had a "wonderful opportunity post-earthquake" to improve its housing stock.
"Our housing stock isn't of 21st-century standard in New Zealand, but particularly in Canterbury following the earthquakes."
When a home dropped below 16 degrees Celsius it "makes a significant difference to hospital and GP visits", he said.
Elderly people or parents living at home with young children were "immediately more vulnerable" and were struggling to keep their houses warm in winter, he said.
"Scandinavian countries have much colder winters than we do but they don't have the same rate and winter mortality," he said. "France, Spain, the UK and New Zealand have much higher rates and they have cold homes."
The Press has been contacted by readers who said they had had the flu vaccination but still suffered a bout of the bug.
Humphrey said immunisation rates in Canterbury were lower this year than last year and flu cases would typically be less severe in someone who had been vaccinated.
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May 31, 2021, 05:23:57 PM