TWENTY-SEVEN
people with suspected swine flu are being tested in Australia, with
authorities searching for 300 others who could have come into contact
with the disease.
Ten people in New South Wales, mostly in Sydney, are currently being
tested for the diesase. The number of suspected cases doubled this in New South Wales morning after five more people presented to hospitals and GPs across Sydney
Five of these people have come through the first stage of testing
and have been found to have contracted an unidentifiable type A virus,
federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.
They will now need further tests to see if they have swine flu.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the cases were serious enough to be concerned.
"We are focusing on people who have got sick within seven days of
travelling to countries affected and have developed flu-like symptoms,"
she said. "We are obviously acting in a precautionary manner."
Fourteen others were being tested in Queensland , including two women detained on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane this morning.http://louis0j0sheehan0esquire.blogspot.com
"Both of those people fell ill with flu-like symptoms," Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said. "They've been ill in the last 24 hours and they've had contact with people in Mexico."
Health
authorities were still awaiting the results of the two women after
swabs were taken. It is not known how long the results will take to be
process.
Three people in Tasmania are also in isolation after presenting with flu-like symptoms following the swine flu outbreak.
The state's health minister Lara Giddings one had returned from the
United States and the other from Mexico in the last six to eight days.
The 300 others authorities were searching for may have come into
contact with the flu after sharing an Air New Zealand flight with a
group of Auckland school children suspected as being infected with the
disease, health experts said.
Nine students and a teacher aboard the flight have tested positive
for influenza A and New Zealand officials say test results later this
week are expected to show they're suffering from swine flu.
A further 56 people who've recently returned from America or Mexico with flu-like symptoms are being tested in New Zealand.
Pandemic plans activated
Early this morning the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised its flu pandemic alert level from three to four, signalling a "significant increase in risk of a pandemic."
Acting WHO assistant-general for health, security and the environment Keiji Fukuda said experts agreed the virus is currently too "widespread to make containment a feasible".
As a result, "focusing on mitigation is really an important focus" for countries dealing with the disease, he said.
Mr Fukuda also stressed that experts did not recommend closing borders or restricting travel.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
"With the virus being widespread... closing borders or restricting
travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this
virus," he said.
As the number of potential Australian cases grows, Queensland has
become the first state to officially activate its pandemic plan alert.
"The Queensland Health pandemic plan has been activated," Premier
Anna Bligh said. "We are in the standby phase, making sure we have all
the resources available across government if we do have an outbreak."
Airport thermal screening yet to be introduced
Australian airports are now on full alert for any passengers travelling from Mexico, US or Canada who appear sick.
From midnight all pilots flying to Australia from affected countries
were ordered to screen passengers and report suspect cases to
quarantine officers. With the virus spreading rapidly, governments
around the world are frantically activating influenza pandemic
controls.
But 30 thermal scanners which could help identify sick passengers
are idle. The Federal Health Department bought about 30 thermal
scanners in 2006 to combat any bird flu epidemic. Japan, Vietnam,
Thailand and Indonesia are employing them to identify potential flu
victims crossing their borders.
A Department of Health and
Ageing spokeswoman said "the thermal imaging machines are not being
deployed at this stage but this is being considered by our medical
experts".
The scanners, the size of a small hand-held video
camera, can detect a patient with a fever from a metre away. More than
$165,000 was spent testing the devices in 2006.
In Mexico, where the disease originated, there have been 149 suspected swine flu deaths.
Four hundred people are in hospital out of a total of 1600 suspected cases.
At least 40 cases have now been confirmed in the U.S, six in Canada, two in Scotland and one in Spain.
Swabs
from 10 Auckland high school students, believed to have contracted the
virus on a Spanish language trip to Mexico City, are due to arrive in
Melbourne today for testing at a World Health Organisation (WHO) accredited laboratory.
A further 56 people who have recently returned from America or
Mexico to New Zealand and have flu-like symptoms are being tested.
Symptoms of swine flu
are similar to regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat,
body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. In some cases people can
experience diarrhoea and vomiting. Pneumonia and respiratory failure
have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
matt of brisbane Posted at 12:33pm today hey
red rocket. did you get that joke from 101 worst jokes in history book,
cause seriously, i almost spewed from it. people will catch the swine
flu from reading your rubbish
It's on of In a bunker with a candle Posted at 12:33pm today All "allied" countries are infected. This is a terrorist attack for sure. http://louis0j0sheehan0esquire.blogspot.com
C. Murkin Posted at 12:32pm today Our
governments are grossly unprepared for a potential pandemic, they have
had plenty of warning and billions in taxpayer dollars to adequately
prepare for such an event, however they continue to give billions of
taxpayer dollars in foreign aid, handouts to foreign automobile
corporations and greedy financial institutions instead of supporting
our failing health system and disaster preparedness. ALL aircraft and
marine vessel passengers and crew, not just those who appear to be ill
or symptomatic, disembarking from all countries including NZ, should
be swabbed at the airport or port and facilities made available for
quarantining passengers and crew to await test results in addition to
allowing maximum time for incubation period to elapse, haven't our
governments heard of asymptomatic carriers or incubation periods?.
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire People should not be told to go to the hospital or their MD, increasing
the risk of further rapid dissemination of the virus, they should be
instructed to stay put in their homes along with family members and
friends with whom they have had contact. Medical teams including
trained volunteers should be employed to visit homes to take swabs if
the need arises.