Australians warned to remain on guard against 'swine flu'

Even though 91 people have been tested for swine flu in Australia, to date there have been no confirmed cases but health officials are warning Australians not to become complacent and to remain on guard against a possible influenza A(H1N1) - swine-flu - epidemic.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says it is as yet too early to be entirely confident as swine flu is a novel disease and still represents a threat.

The Health Minister has denied reports that the anti-viral drugs the government has stockpiled to deal with a flu epidemic had mostly passed their use-by date and says contractual arrangements ensure that at no time will the stockpile have less than 8.7 million courses in it and at times it will have more than that.

Ms Roxon says quick action may be needed over the coming days and weeks and it must be accepted that this is a new disease and experts are uncertain how it will behave.

The Health minister says it would be good news for the world if influenza A(H1N1) turns out to be less serious than originally feared.

The latest update ( # 12) from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the 3rd May 2009 says 18 countries have officially reported 898 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths and the WHO says the higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens.

The United States has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death and the following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria 1, Canada 85, Hong Kong 1, Costa Rica 1, Denmark 1, France 2, Germany 8, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 1, Netherlands 1, New Zealand 4, Republic of Korea 1, Spain 40, Switzerland 1 and the United Kingdom 15.

No restriction of regular travel or closure of borders have been recommended by the WHO in relation to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus; the WHO says international travel moves rapidly, with large numbers of individuals visiting various parts of the world and limiting travel and imposing travel restrictions would have very little effect on stopping the virus from spreading, but would be highly disruptive to the global community.

But the organisation says it is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

On 2nd May Canada reported the identification of the A(H1N1) virus in a swine herd in Alberta and it is thought that the pigs were exposed to the virus from a Canadian farm worker recently returned from Mexico, who had exhibited flu-like symptoms and had contact with the pigs. - there is no indication of virus adaptation through transfer from human to pigs at this time.

The WHO emphasises that there is no risk of infection from the virus by consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products - individuals are advised to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and to seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

The WHO says influenza A(H1N1) has been confirmed in many parts of the world and the focus now is on minimizing the impact of the virus through the rapid identification of cases and providing patients with appropriate medical care, rather than on stopping its spread internationally.

The WHO says also says that identifying the signs and symptoms of influenza in travellers can be an effective monitoring technique, but is not effective in reducing the spread of influenza as the virus can be transmitted from person to person before the onset of symptoms and scientific research based on mathematical modelling indicates that restricting travel will be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease and this has been proven in previous influenza pandemics, as well with SARS.