Flight passengers in contact with influenza A/H1N1 to be out of quarantine on Thursday

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Passengers quarantined in
the Chinese mainland who took the same flight with a Mexican national later
diagnosed with influenza A/H1N1 in Hong Kong will be out of quarantine on
Thursday if they display no flu-like symptoms, China's Ministry of Health said
Wednesday.

The passengers, scattered in 18 provinces, autonomous regions
and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, would be free to go by 6 a.m.
Thursday, after local health authorities confirm they show no fever, acute
respiratory symptoms, or other signs of influenza A/H1N1 infection.

Those who show flu-like symptoms will be isolated at
designated health institutions and will receive medical treatment there, the
ministry said. People in close contact with them will also be quarantined.

None of the passengers had yet showed any flu-like
symptoms as of Monday, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

A flight crew of 13 Mexicans and 166 passengers who
remained in the Chinese mainland were put into a seven-day quarantine on May
1after taking Thursday's Mexican flight Aeromexico 098 from Mexico City to
Shanghai.

The quarantine came after a 25-year-old male Mexican
who took the same flight was confirmed on Friday in Hong Kong to be infected
with influenza A/H1N1.

On Tuesday, a Mexican chartered plane arrived at the
Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Tuesday to pick up the quarantined
Mexicans.

Andres Pena, vice consul-general of Mexico in
Shanghai, said those who got on the plane included 43 crew and passengers on
board the AM098 and 34 others, who worked and lived in China but were not under
quarantine. Six Mexican nationals volunteered to stay in the city.

New quarantine powers enacted in Australia to manage swine flu

CANBERRA, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Australian federal Health Minister Nicola
Roxon said on Wednesday Governor-General Quentin Bryce approved to pass the new
quarantine powers for health officials in response to the global outbreak of
swine flu.

"Using disinfectants on planes or at ports, through to the far more extreme
(powers) which are *** sure that people are isolated and perhaps detained if
they don't cooperate and are showing symptoms of this disease," Roxon told ABC
Radio.

But Roxon has stressed they were only precautionary measures and won't
necessarily be used.

"We are not about to take those steps but we want to make sure that all the
powers are there, that we are ready to act if this takes a dramatic turn for the
worst," Roxon said.

Thermal imaging equipment that shows the body's temperature will not yet be
used at Australian airports, Roxon said.

"If we see the situation changing in other countries, if we find that the
disease is being passed on in a more effective way or is being particularly
virulent elsewhere we of course will reassess whether it is necessary," Roxon
said.

Roxon has approached Bryce on Tuesday night to approve the powers, which
include allowing authorities to detain people suspected of having the
potentially deadly virus.

There have been 111 possible swine flu cases being investigated in
Australia, including 22 locals who were on the same flight as three New Zealand
students now confirmed as being infected.

The remaining 89 have been showing flu-like symptoms and were being tested
and results are expected in the next 48 hours.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned on Sunday that an outbreak
of swine flu in Mexico has spread to other countries.

Mexico's Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said late Tuesday 2,498
suspected cases of swine flu have been reported, with 1,311 of the patients
still in the hospital. The probable death toll from swine flu in Mexico rose to
159.

Malaysia to conduct quarantine similar to that during SARS scare

Special Report: World Tackles Swine Flu

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia is expected to take quarantine
action similar to that conducted in 2003 against the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) as a move to increase health surveillance due to the swine flu
outbreak, according to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) here on Tuesday.

The Malaysian Health Ministry will be screening passengers arriving from
Los Angeles and New York of the United States for any obvious symptoms of the
virus, the Malaysian national carrier said.

"Quarantine action will be done if necessary, similar to the procedure
adopted during SARS scare in 2003, " said MAS operation director Tajuden Abu
Bakar in a statement released here.

Malaysia Airlines will assist in expediting the process as this exercise
will invariably cause some inconvenience, especially for passengers with
connecting flights, Tajuden said.

Tajuden also said that currently MAS had not seen a drop in travel demand
and it was still operating as normal.

Meanwhile, Tajuden said that MAS allowed its passengers already booked for
travel to Los Angeles or New York to make changes to their flights at no charge
from now until the end of May 2009.