New figures from the Department of Health and Human Services have revealed there were 78 flu deaths in aged-care homes, compared with 36 at the same time last year. And this year’s flu has mutated, rendering some vaccinations ineffective. Kanta Subbarao, director of the World Health Organisation’s Melbourne influenza research centre, said this year’s strain was particularly tough on the elderly. “A/H3N2 has been the main strain this year, its in about 70 per cent of cases,” she said. “We know at any time there is a A/H3N2 strain that there will be a lot of infections in older adults.
