Giuseppe
Emeritus
Australia. Swine flu patients in serious condition - ABC News (edited)
Swine flu patients in serious condition
Two men with swine flu are in a serious but stable condition at a Melbourne hospital.
The men are on ventilators in intensive care at the Western Hospital at Footscray.
They are in strict quarantine.
Three other people including a child are in hospital in Melbourne with the virus
The child is in a stable condition.
In Victoria more than 1,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed.
But Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the swine flu threat has reached the point where it may soon be pointless to quarantine infected people.
Victorian Premier John Brumby says Victoria will not be extending its existing quarantine measures.
Mr Brumby says the WHO's classification of swine flu as a global pandemic will not change the way state authorities are dealing with the flu.
"Pandemic is a bit of a scary word, people hear it and they worry about it. Rule number one with epidemics or pandemics is that the response has got to be proportionate to the risk," he said.
Meanwhile an Australian tourism chief says health authorities have over-reacted to swine flu.
The industry says the outbreak has scared some international buyers away from a trade fair that opens in Melbourne today.
The head of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, Anthony McIntosh has told ABC Radio's AM the over-reaction has damaged the country's reputation.
"It really is disappointing from an industry perspective that the reputation of Australia and in particular Victoria has taken a serious hit with regards to this incident and for, it would seem at this point in time, no real apparent reason," he said.
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<cite cite="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/13/2597360.htm">Swine flu patients in serious condition - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)</cite>Two men with swine flu are in a serious but stable condition at a Melbourne hospital.
The men are on ventilators in intensive care at the Western Hospital at Footscray.
They are in strict quarantine.
Three other people including a child are in hospital in Melbourne with the virus
The child is in a stable condition.
In Victoria more than 1,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed.
But Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the swine flu threat has reached the point where it may soon be pointless to quarantine infected people.
Victorian Premier John Brumby says Victoria will not be extending its existing quarantine measures.
Mr Brumby says the WHO's classification of swine flu as a global pandemic will not change the way state authorities are dealing with the flu.
"Pandemic is a bit of a scary word, people hear it and they worry about it. Rule number one with epidemics or pandemics is that the response has got to be proportionate to the risk," he said.
Meanwhile an Australian tourism chief says health authorities have over-reacted to swine flu.
The industry says the outbreak has scared some international buyers away from a trade fair that opens in Melbourne today.
The head of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, Anthony McIntosh has told ABC Radio's AM the over-reaction has damaged the country's reputation.
"It really is disappointing from an industry perspective that the reputation of Australia and in particular Victoria has taken a serious hit with regards to this incident and for, it would seem at this point in time, no real apparent reason," he said.
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