AN unborn child has died and the mother is fighting for her life after being struck by swine flu.
Health officials said the woman, 19, was transferred from Palm Island to Townsville Hospital on Saturday.
Indigenous swine flu plan needed
She remained in a critical condition in intensive care last night, the Townsville Bulletin reports.
It is understood the woman had carried her child to 36 weeks, before the baby died.
It is only the second swine flu-related death in Queensland, after a 38-year-old woman died at Brisbane's Mater Public Hospital last week.
It is also believed to be the first swine flu-related death of a baby in Australia.
The death has added to Palm Islanders' concerns the community may not be able to cope with a swine flu outbreak due to insufficient housing and health infrastructure.
James Cook University Indigenous health expert Dr Adrian Miller said health officials needed to act quickly on Palm Island.
''There needs to be a mobilisation of the pandemic plan that takes into consideration Palm Island's unique situation,'' he said.
''There should be some kind of contact tracing of how the person was exposed and who else was possibly exposed to the virus, getting in contact with them and having them come to the hospital for diagnosis.''
Queensland Health spokesman Garry McAulay said a flu clinic would open today at the island's community health centre.
''Queensland Health has remained active by setting up flu clinics when and where necessary, offering antiviral medication when appropriate, developing a range of resources in different languages as well as an indigenous 'no flu on you' campaign particularly for indigenous communities, including Palm Island, and a mainstream hygiene campaign,'' Mr McAulay said.
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