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Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=axoQe.ac5Tos
Australia Braces for Swine Flu Outbreak in Jails as Inmates Hit
By Phoebe Sedgman
July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Australian authorities said as many as 70 prisoners in the northeastern state of Queensland may have contracted swine flu, after five inmates in two jails tested positive for the H1N1 virus in a week.
A 34-year-old inmate at the Lotus Glen Correctional Centre, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of the tourist hub of Cairns, tested positive for the virus yesterday, while another 69 inmates have flu-like symptoms, said Ross McSwain, director of the office of the commissioner of corrective services.
?All prisoners remain in quarantine in their accommodation and those identified with strong indications of having swine flu have been treated with Tamiflu,? he said today by telephone.
The case comes after an inmate at Capricornia Correctional Centre, about 600 kilometers north of the state capital, Brisbane, tested positive for swine flu on June 25, McSwain said. Three other prisoners and a staff member also tested positive for the virus, he added.
Inmates at Capricornia were treated with the Tamiflu anti- viral medication and are no longer in isolation after health authorities advised Queensland Corrective Services the prisoners were ?no longer a threat?, McSwain said.
Queensland has 691 of the 4,568 confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia, according to the federal government.
To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 2, 2009 21:54 EDT
Australia Braces for Swine Flu Outbreak in Jails as Inmates Hit
By Phoebe Sedgman
July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Australian authorities said as many as 70 prisoners in the northeastern state of Queensland may have contracted swine flu, after five inmates in two jails tested positive for the H1N1 virus in a week.
A 34-year-old inmate at the Lotus Glen Correctional Centre, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of the tourist hub of Cairns, tested positive for the virus yesterday, while another 69 inmates have flu-like symptoms, said Ross McSwain, director of the office of the commissioner of corrective services.
?All prisoners remain in quarantine in their accommodation and those identified with strong indications of having swine flu have been treated with Tamiflu,? he said today by telephone.
The case comes after an inmate at Capricornia Correctional Centre, about 600 kilometers north of the state capital, Brisbane, tested positive for swine flu on June 25, McSwain said. Three other prisoners and a staff member also tested positive for the virus, he added.
Inmates at Capricornia were treated with the Tamiflu anti- viral medication and are no longer in isolation after health authorities advised Queensland Corrective Services the prisoners were ?no longer a threat?, McSwain said.
Queensland has 691 of the 4,568 confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia, according to the federal government.
To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 2, 2009 21:54 EDT