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ALL flights into Australia from North America or South America will have to report any passengers with flu-like symptoms before the aircraft is allowed to land. Responding to the swine flu outbreak, Australian Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced on today that the Government was moving immediately to the "next phase of protection" against the disease.
"We have now made the decision on the advice of the chief medical officer that we should introduce the next phase of protections, that is introducing at our borders arrangements for all flights that are coming in from the Americas and landing here in Australia," Ms Roxon said. "Before flights will be able to land here in Australia, pilots will have to ascertain whether anyone on board has flu-like symptoms."
The screening system will be enforced from midnight. Anyone reporting flu-like symptoms will be assessed by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service and referred for medical treatment. After the World Health Organisation described the outbreak as a "public health emergency", Ms Roxon said the Government considered it a "great concern" and stood ready to upgrade its response if and as needed.
"There are quite a large number of people in Mexico who have died and large numbers who have this flu," Ms Roxon said. "The early advice is that the symptoms in other countries are showing up in a much milder form." She said having been prepared for a possible bird-flu outbreak, Australia was well set-up to deal with the swine flu threat and had researchers working to identify how the flu operated and was transmitted. "We do have effective antiviral drugs in good supply in Australia," Ms Roxon said.
source: www.news.com.au
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