Sydney, Jul 6 (IANS): The health authority in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday warned of rising influenza rates and hospitalizations among children and teenagers, urging parents to have their kids aged five to 16 years vaccinated.

NSW Health Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said in a statement that the latest NSW data is concerning, with a 37 per cent increase in emergency department (ED) presentations with influenza-like illness and a 30 per cent increase in admissions to hospital in the week to Sunday compared to the previous week, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the statement, children aged under 16 years represented 54 per cent of all ED presentations for influenza-like illness, and over a third of all influenza-like illness hospital admissions in the past week, which proved that children in the state are being disproportionately affected by influenza this year.

Since May, there have been 16 children admitted to intensive care with life-threatening complications from influenza, and the numbers continue to rise.

"In recent weeks we have seen influenza cases rising fastest among very young children as well as those aged five to 16 years, with these two age groups often accounting for around half of all flu cases diagnosed in NSW each week," said Chant.

"Sadly, our children's hospitals are seeing an increasing number of these children being admitted for care and some of these patients are seriously unwell," the officer noted.

She suggested that the very best thing parents can do to keep their kids well and reduce the risk of them being hospitalised due to influenza is to ensure their children receive a flu vaccine if they haven't yet.