TRANSCRIPT:
Casualty, Grey's Anatomy, New Amsterdam, E-R, House... we all love a medical drama.
But we're not so keen, as a rule, on medical dramas in our own lives.
For a nation still feeling a bit bruised by the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, the news in January that a person in the United States died from H5N1 Bird Flu wasn't exactly comforting.
SBS spoke to Michelle Wille, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Pathogen Genomics at the University of Melbourne, to find out whether Australian were in any actual danger.
It turns out Australia is one of the few places in the world where H5N1 is not endemic - but even so, it's wise to take precautions.
"The most recent assessment came out in December. Still suggests that the risk of avian influenza infection to the general public remains low, but it is higher for occupationally exposed workers. Okay, these are people who would infect or interact with infected animals. So for the average person, our risk is quite low. But if you have chickens and they are sick, it's important to get those animals tested and know your risks."
But while we seem to be off the hook for bird flu - at least for now - would we be ready for another pandemic, five years after COVID?
Professor Paul Kelly, the man who helped lead Australia's COVID-19 public health response, told SBS he's not so sure.
He worries people may not accept another vaccine program.
"Trust is hard to win and easy to lose. And I think that will be a major issue for us going to the next pandemic. The Australian public was enormously trusting of medical advice and the politicians that were in charge at the national and the state and territory level. I'm not sure that that's the case now."
Also in January, the Federal Government unveiled Australia’s first-ever National Autism Strategy—a $42 million plan to improve inclusion, access, and outcomes for Australians with autism.
Advocates are calling it a game-changer, offering hope and much-needed support to families across the country who face unique and daily challenges.
Making the announcement, Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth said communities from migrant backgrounds were identified as a priority cohort, to address unique barriers they face.
"Whether that is through the peer support, whether it is through being very conscious of asking people how they would like to be communicated in different government systems, making sure that we have resources in language is some of the initiatives that we have committed to to make sure there is a priority for linguistically and culturally diverse people."
With more than 400,000 Australians identified by the Government as living with dementia, not surprisingly there was interest in a new blood test being trialled in the United Kingdom to detect the early signs of dementia.
In the study at the University of Oxford, blood samples are scanned for a series of proteins – biomarkers, associated with dementia - that can provide early diagnosis.
Professor Kaarin Jane Anstey, from the University of New South Wales, says while medications can assist people in the early stages of dementia, they are not a cure.
"They don't prevent or stop the disease progression, so the medications that are available now are really effective in the earlier stages of dementia and they are more to treat symptoms."
