Lethal hypothermia in South Australia

Bright, Fiona; Winskog, Calle; Byard, Roger W

doi:10.5694/mja12.11379

Topics

To the Editor: Deaths resulting from hypothermia are not limited to colder climates or to the winter months, and have previously been highlighted as a public health problem in temperate regions in Australia.1 We recently reported the details of a hypothermic death in a home in South Australia, and raised concerns about the contribution of poor domestic energy efficiency to such fatalities.2

University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA.

Correspondence: roger.byard@adelaide.edu.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Lim C, Duflou J. Hypothermia fatalities in a temperate climate: Sydney, Australia. Pathology 2008; 40: 46-51.
2. Bright F, Gilbert JD, Winskog C, Byard RW. Additional risk factors for lethal hypothermia. J Clin Forensic Med 2012. In press.
3. Byard RW, Tsokos M. Forensic issues in cases of Diogenes syndrome. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2007; 28: 177-181.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Energy in focus: energy efficiency of Australian homes, April 2010. Canberra: ABS, 2010. (ABS Cat. No. 4614.0.55.002.) http://www.abs.gov.au (accessed Sep 2012).
5. Willrath H. Thermal sensitivity of Australian houses to variations in building parameters. (Paper 67.) Proceedings of Solar ‘97, Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society; 1997 Dec 1-3; Canberra. http://www.solarlogic.com.au/profile/Thermal%20sensitivity.pdf (accessed Oct 2012).

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