Anyone here no anything about this from m+n's scientific community... talk to me...

Australia on alert for deadly swine flu from Mexico
By staff writers and wires
NEWS.com.au
April 27, 2009 08:40am
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Swine flu spreads
Ten New Zealand students are the latest victims of a suspected swine flu outbreak, bringing the...
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View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map Monitor ... a thermal camera monitors the body temperature of passengers to identify possible swine flu infections at Incheon International Airport, South Korea / AP
Suspected swine flu cases in NSW
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Flu passes from person to person
AUSTRALIA'S top influenza expert says swine flu is probably already in Australia.

His prediction comes as it was reported that two suspected cases of swine flu are being tested in a New South Wales Hospital.

''It's very hard to screen for influenza coming into the country because what we do know is that people can be infected and not show the signs of disease in the early stages, but can be spreading the disease now,'' virologist Alan Hampson said.

Emergency departments have been put on alert and asked doctors to report any likely symptoms of a new strain of deadly swine flu sweeping the globe.

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.

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''The most worrying fact is that it appears to transmit from human to human,'' said WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham.

These features, along with the fact that young healthy adults have fallen victim to the flu in Mexico, and not the very old or very young, have given rise to fears of an epidemic or even a pandemic.

Health Authorities in New Zealand have quarantined a school group of 25 from Auckland after they returned from Mexico on Saturday with flu-like symptoms.

Ten of the students have tested positive for influenza A and are believed ''likely'' to have contracted swine flu, New Zealand Health Minister Tony Ryall said late yesterday.

Australia's chief medical officer, Jim Bishop, last night urged people to be vigilant but not alarmed as authorities around the world rushed to put in place measures to curb the spread of the outbreak.

Mexico assumed new quarantine powers, shut down schools and cancelled Sunday masses, while the US embassy suspended visa-processing services for travel from its neighbour.

The World Health Authority declared the outbreaks a ''public health emergency of international concern'', amid fears the disease had spread to 16 Mexican states as well as California, Texas, Kansas, New York City, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The strain is suspected to have infected 1324 and killed up to 81 people in Mexico alone since April 13.

US expecting deaths

A top official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said she feared some people in the United States would die as a new strain of swine flu spreads.

The agency's Dr Anne Schuchat said officials were preparing for a possible spread of the illness beyond the 20 cases confirmed in the United States

''It is clear that this is widespread. And that is why we have let you know that we cannot contain the spread of this virus,'' Dr Schuchat said.

''I do fear that we will have deaths. It's very hard to predict exactly,'' Dr. Schuchat said. ''We all need to all be prepared for change.''

The US has reported 20 confirmed or suspected cases.

Pandemic Potential

The outbreaks do not constitute a pandemic by WHO definitions, but has the potential to evolve into one, leaving airports across the world on alert.

Melbourne's World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Influenza - one of four across the globe - is readying itself to receive a sample of the virus, with New Zealand announcing it would send its test results to the group.

The centre was ''right in the middle of this'', Professor Bishop told The Australian.

Centre director Anne Kelso said the discovery and spread of the new A/H1N1 virus was ''unusual'', noting the last outbreak of swine flu to attract international concern was in 1976.

''This is a new virus that has a new combination of genes from two different swine sources, and humans and birds ... it is complicated,'' she said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade updated its travel advisory for Mexico, warning visitors to prepare for health checks at the nation's international airports.

Spread

In a statement, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it's recommending that all nations ''intensify surveillance for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia''.

Confirmed cases of the virus have been found in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Suspected cases were being tested in England, Frace, Spain, New Zealand, Scotland, the Middle East and Asia.

All passengers entering the US from infected areas will be screened for the virus and isolated if they are showing any symptoms.

AAP, The Australian, Reuters