Fed: Australia must stay vigilant against swine flu - Roxon
07 May 2009 1:46 PM
MELBOURNE, May 7 AAP - Australia must remain vigilant against swine flu despite signs the threat is receding around the world, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says.
Australia still has no confirmed cases of swine flu.
Only 40 Australians are now being tested for the disease, Ms Roxon told reporters in Melbourne, at the launch of a new cancer treatment centre.
"All our systems appear to be working well in terms of identifying people at risk and follow-up contact tracing," Ms Roxon said.
Most of those who have been tested are in New South Wales, the country's major international gateway.
"I think we need to be remaining vigilant in the current circumstances, there are some good signs from around the world that this might not be as severe as people might have feared, but we aren't out of the woods yet.
"We're certainly maintaining our vigilance and cautionary approach to do all we can to delay the entry of swine flu into Australia and be ready to act if we have a case confirmed, as will be inevitable at some point in the future."
Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said only five tests were pending in the state, with hundreds of samples taken so far having proved negative.
"Things are working well and the cooperative approach between our government and the national government has been of great benefit to the public and every single Victorian," Mr Andrews said.
"We will continue to work hard together to ensure we can keep this swine flu out of our jurisdiction for as long as possible."
