Flu outbreak claims three lives

In the past week, two men in their 60s and a woman in her 40s died at the Kanangra and Stockton centres, health authorities say.

Hunter New England public health physician Professor David Durrheim said the cases had been confirmed as H3N2. The patients were immunised earlier this year but Professor Durrheim said the vaccine was not a perfect match.

“The influenza virus is unstable. It gathers small mutations and that is what has happened in this case,” Professor Durrheim said.

“With H1N1 the vaccine was almost a perfect match. In this case it has drifted slightly from the strain in the