![\"Supplied](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeb5549229ada9b44f5b085e8c64053a.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nA major flu outbreak has taken the lives of 14 people in the Northern Territory as doctors plea for needle-free vaccines to roll back the danger.<\/p>\n
The outbreak, which escalated in July this year, has resulted in 4195 cases of the deadly disease this year.<\/p>\n
In 2024, there was 3299 cases and in 2022, there were 2776 cases.<\/p>\n
But RACGP Northern Territory chair Sam Heard warns that case numbers are \u201cno doubt far higher\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have record flu numbers and declining vaccination rates,\u201d he said this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, in the NT, we\u2019ve already had 4000 lab-confirmed influenza cases compared to 3299 cases in all of last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe true number of flu cases Territory-wide is no doubt far higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourteen deaths are now linked to the outbreak.<\/p>\n
\u201cInfluenza cases have been reported across all regions of the Northern Territory, with notifications gradually decreasing since August following a peak in mid-July,\u201d an NT Health spokesman said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
3D model of the influenza virus showing various proteins on the surface. Picture: Immunisation Coalition<\/p>\n
\u201cNT Health strongly encourages Territorians to be vigilant for symptoms of influenza and flu-like illnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember to wash your hands frequently, stay home from work, school and childcare if you are unwell with symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
The flu is a contagious respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs.<\/p>\n
Common symptoms include fever, cough, headache, muscle aches and a runny nose.<\/p>\n
Dr Heard says needle-free vaccinations could uplift vaccination rates across the NT.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (NT) government must commit to rolling out free, intranasal flu vaccinations for young kids next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of a more sensible and necessary public health investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a cost-effective and necessary step to keep young children, who are among the most at risk from a severe flu infection including hospitalisation, as safe as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The RACGP says needles scare off children and parents in the NT from getting vaccinated. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n
The RACGP reports that only 35.4 per cent of children aged six months to five years and only 34.9 per cent of patients aged 65 years or older are vaccinated against the flu in the NT.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know these intranasal sprays work,\u201d Dr Heard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany children are fearful of needles and two-thirds of parents say the distress about vaccinating their child acts as a barrier.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemoving all barriers to vaccination is so important.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can assure all Territorians that these needle-free vaccines provide the same level of protection, they\u2019ve been used overseas in countries such as Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Spain for years and have been thoroughly tested for safety and efficacy. Where they\u2019ve been rolled out, these countries have seen substantial increases in vaccination coverage in high-risk patient groups \u2013 which is just what we need to achieve here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nationwide, there have been 410,000 lab confirmed cases, a record high number.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major flu outbreak has taken the lives of 14 people in the Northern Territory as doctors plea…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,144,147466,137,500,45467,147467,1098,31465,147464,147465,144935,3851],"class_list":["post-248388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-flu","tag-flu-vaccinations","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-influenza-cases","tag-influenza-virus","tag-nt","tag-racgp","tag-sam-heard","tag-symptoms-of-influenza","tag-the-northern-territory","tag-vaccination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}