A YOUNG Aussie mum-of-two has died after contracting influenza as the country’s horror flu season continues.
Jennifer Thew, from Gungahlin in the Australian Capital Territory, died from acute respiratory distress syndrome at the weekend amid the worst flu season the territory has seen in five years.
News of her death comes as experts say it is “inevitable” that the virus will make its way from Down Under to the UK.
It’s understood Jennifer and her seven-year-old daughter had been sick with the virus for a week.
She worked as a medical receptionist in Canberra and had been vaccinated against the flu.
Originally from Germany, Ms Thew, she was known to the community as a loving, involved mother who even through her sickness last week was putting her kids’ needs first.
“She always went above and beyond for those around her,” a source close to Ms Thew said.
Her family is now flying out from Germany.
It comes as a horror flu season sweeps Australia, with more than 137,500 cases confirmed across the country by the start of September.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the Thew family by her daughter’s dance school in the ACT.
Hospitals in the UK have begun preparing for the outbreak which will be the worst in 50 years, experts have warned.
Australia is recovering from its worst outbreak on record with numbers needing hospital treatment double that for last year.
Some hospitals had standing room only as the H3N2 strain of the winter bug struck the country.
Professor Robert Dingwall, a public health expert at Nottingham Trent University, told the Daily Express this is the most serious flu outbreak since the 1968 pandemic that started in Hong Kong and killed more than a million people world wide.
He warned it was “inevitable” the flu strain would hit the UK.
“Based on the Australian experience public health officials need to meet and urgently review emergency planning procedures,” he said.
“Public Health England should be working with local authorities and local health services to ensure more hospital beds are freed up.
“We need to be prepared, alert and flexible.”
It comes two weeks after NHS bosses revealed they want 3,000 extra beds available before the flu season hits.
They had given hospitals eight weeks to free up those taken by bed blockers.
They also urged all eligible Brits to have a flu jab but admitted it was too late to tweak the strains in their stockpile.
The alert comes as Australia recovers from its worst outbreak on record with numbers needing hospital treatment double that for last year.
IN THE KNOW Don’t let flu get you down – signs and symptoms and how to treat yourself
NHS chief Simon Stevens said at the time: “The signs from Australia and New Zealand, who are just coming out of winter, are that it has been a heavy flu season and many of the hospitals have struggled.
“In some parts of this country there are real pressures so we are using the next six to eight weeks to really be clear what the plan needs to be.
“Part of this is ensuring that we see further improvement in delayed discharges before November.
“The plan to free up 2,000 to 3,000 beds relies on significant improvement in that area.”
Prof Paul Cosford, of Public Health England, said the World Health Organisation recommends which strains go in the UK vaccine.
He added: “It’s too early to know which will be the dominant strains of flu to circulate here.
“It’s really important that as many eligible people as possible get their jab which is the best way to protect everyone.”
More than 21million in England alone can have a free jab.
In 2015 it did not match the dominant flu strain, contributing to the biggest spike in winter deaths since the 1960s.
Most Read in News
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368