The number of infectious diseases recorded in the ACT reached some of their lowest levels in a decade during the past month, as social distancing measures came into effect.
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While the restrictions were brought in to combat the effects of coronavirus, the measures have also led to a drop in influenza cases, along with other diseases such as chickenpox, salmonella infection, hepatitis and chlamydia.
During April this year the federal government's national notifiable diseases surveillance system received reports of 238 total cases of infectious diseases, which included 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
That figure is almost half of the total number of cases the month before with 501 recorded in March 2020, while 437 cases were lodged during April the year before.
In the past 10 years of monthly data from the national surveillance system, just five months recorded marginally lower total disease cases, once coronavirus figures were excluded.
April 2020 was the lowest month of total diseases recorded since April 2013.
The figures come as Canberra Hospital saw a drop in patients during the coronavirus crisis, as people avoided the emergency department.
According to the federal figures, just four lab-confirmed cases of influenza were recorded in the ACT this April, compared to 34 the month before, and 78 at the same time period in 2019.
The number of chlamydia cases almost halved in the space of one month, dropping from 153 in March this year, to 83 in April, the lowest case numbers in more than a year.
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Meanwhile, gonorrhea numbers in Canberra declined by 69 per cent in the space of one month.
There were also fewer cases of salmonella infections, with just five seen in the past month, down on the same time the year before by two-thirds.
Infectious diseases specialist at the ANU Medical School Dr Sanjaya Senanayake said it was not surprising coronavirus lockdown measures were having an effect on other infectious diseases.
"With influenza, one of the major drivers of influenza transmission in the community is children," he said.
"The last few weeks haven't had schools open and children haven't been mixing in or outside of schools, and there's a sense of less interaction."
The trend isn't just limited to the nation's capital with other jurisdictions across the country also notching up fewer influenza cases.
Dr Craig Dalton, the coordinator of FluTracking which monitors influenza cases among the general public said there had been a substantial drop in the number of cases presented nationwide.
"Normally, around 1.5 to 2 per cent of people who respond [to FluTracking surveys] say they have cough or a fever, but now that's at about 0.2 per cent," Dr Dalton said.
"I've been watching this data for 13 years and I just never imagined it could get this low.
"We had no idea we could drive transmission rates this low."
As the number of coronavirus cases in the country begin to decline, lockdown measures are being relaxed.
However, Dr Senanayake said the eased restrictions could lead to more people getting diagnosed with conditions such as influenza as people get back out into the community.
"It's very likely that could happen, and I suspect that if social distancing is lifted to some extent we will see an increased risk," he said.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
