Australia state to carry out mass H1N1 vaccination

CANBERRA May 27 (Reuters) - An Australian state hit hardest by H1N1 virus will carry out mass vaccinations for people suspected of having so-called swine flu as the country's total number of confirmed cases near-doubled to 59.

Health authorities in Victoria, where 32 people have been confirmed with H1N1, said they would open special clinics to relieve hospitals and deal with the outbreak, administering anti-viral drugs to anyone with symptoms.

But national Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the government would not be restricting domestic travel after authorities in New South Wales state were criticised for not isolating hundreds of passengers who disembarked from an infected cruise ship.

"Authorities are making decisions in difficult circumstances and trying to balance the inconvenience to the public that might be regarded as disproportionate...with the need for us to isolate cases and make sure there isn't any unnecessary spread," Roxon told state radio. (Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Australia

• Tweet this
• Link this
• Share this
• Digg this
• Email
• Reprints

Comments (0)

This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.