| More Indigenous deaths likely from swine flu: health council |
| Tuesday, 23 June 2009 15:40 |
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The Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia says more Aboriginal people with chronic health problems could die if they contract swine flu.
Chief executive Mary Buckskin says the service wanted to express its condolences to the family of a 26-year-old man from Kiwirrkurra in remote Western Australia, who died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital last week. He had tested positive for swine flu but was also suffering from a range of health issues, including pneumonia. Health officials have yet to determine what role swine flu played in his death. Ms Buckskin says the man's case highlighted the chronic health problems suffered by many Indigenous people and the fact that their conditions put them more at risk from the Influenza A (H1N1) Virus. |