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link to www.smh.com.au]
NSW woman tests positive to swine flu
A NSW woman has tested positive to swine flu, in Australia's first confirmed case of the illness, Queensland's chief medical officer says.
The woman was sick overseas and has made a full recovery, Queensland's chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said in a statement today.
Dr Young said the woman who flew into Brisbane from Los Angeles on Thursday had tested "weak positive" to the human swine flu influenza.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) laboratory in Victoria confirmed the case was human swine flu influenza early on Saturday morning.
The expert advice is that the woman was no longer infectious at the time of boarding her flight to Australia, the Queensland Health statement said.
The woman began experiencing symptoms while in the United States on April 27 and arrived in Brisbane on flight QF16 on May 7.
She was screened and swabbed at the airport, given a mask and went to stay with her family, who live in Brisbane, while awaiting test results.
Dr Young said passengers who were sitting close to the woman on the flight and her family members were being contacted by authorities.
"But because we're taking every precaution, we will be contacting passengers from the same flight sitting close to the woman, and her close family, to check if they have had any illness and alert them to seek medical advice if they become unwell,'' Dr Young said.
"While advice from state and commonwealth experts is that other passengers are highly unlikely to become unwell because the woman was not infectious when she got on the flight, any other passenger on the flight with concerns can contact 13 HEALTH or visit their local GP.''
The WHO said on Friday that 2,500 people in 26 countries had tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus.
Hundreds of people have been tested for swine flu in Australia but the NSW woman is the first confirmed case.
Three Australians living in the United Kingdom have tested positive for swine flu.
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon is currently holding a press conference in Canberra on the swine flu situation.
Queensland Health is currently testing four other people for possible human swine flu influenza as part of its precautionary testing program.
Dr Young said personal hygiene remained vital.
"All Queenslanders can do their bit by following normal flu season hygiene procedures, such as regular hand washing, covering their nose and mouth if sneezing or coughing, and staying home if they are sick,'' Dr Young said.
Dr Young will hold a media briefing in Brisbane at 11.30am on Saturday.
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