Australia's swine flu tally reaches 207

A swine flu vaccine will be available within weeks and the federal government is
bankrolling urgent research into the virus as the number of confirmed cases in
Australia jumped to 207.

Victoria remains Australia's swine flu capital, with the state now recording 138
cases of the A(H1N1) virus after another 39 were announced late on Friday.
Seven Victorian schools are now closed.
NSW has 48 confirmed cases of swine flu.
As the emergency escalates, pharmaceutical company CSL Ltd confirmed the first
batches of its vaccine would be ready by August.
The federal government has ordered enough doses for 10 million Australians, while
the US has placed a $US180 million ($A229.5 million) order.
CSL Biotherapies general manager Mary Sontrop said scientists were preparing a
"candidate vaccine" for clinical trials.
The first available batches were expected to start rolling out of CSL's Melbourne
drug manufacturing plant by late July/early August.
"We are confident of being able to satisfy the needs of Australia and other
countries in a timely way," she said.
The federal government on Friday issued an "urgent call" for research into swine
flu, providing $7 million to help combat the potentially deadly virus through the
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The money will be available to scientists from next month.
But the results of their research are not expected until December, when the worst of
Australia's flu season will be over.
As authorities nationwide brace for the infection rate to rise this weekend, federal
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said it was still too early to justify restricting
domestic travel and shutting down public transport and major public events.
"Certainly, assessments are made by the health officials whether there would be a
risk of attending certain activities or not, but we are not at that point in time,
the disease is not sufficiently widespread in the community ... that that advice has
been given."
As the Pacific Dawn cruise ship prepares to dock in Brisbane on Saturday, after
cutting short its cruise because of the swine flu threat, the Queensland government
will invoke tough quarantine powers to stop interstate passengers disembarking.
Three crew members have tested positive to the A(H1N1) virus, but have since
recovered after receiving treatment. Five passengers are awaiting test results.
Health officials will screen the ship's 2,000 passengers and 700 crew. Only
Queensland residents will be allowed to disembark and will be asked to quarantine
themselves for seven days.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said passengers from other states would not be allowed
off at all and would have to stay on board until Sydney.
The ship's owner, Carnival Australia, said the five passengers had been isolated and
treated with antiviral medication, pending tests, but none has confirmed swine flu.
"We are being extremely cautious in our testing arrangements for anybody who
presents themselves with flu-like symptoms," CEO Ann Sherry said.
Eight of Queensland's 10 confirmed cases were passengers on Pacific Dawn, while all
but 10 of the 48 NSW cases were also on board.
South Australia has seven cases of swine flu, including four from the ship; the ACT
has three; and Western Australia one.
Jetstar has cut June flights from Australia to Japan by a third as the swine flu
scare causes a sharp fall in Japanese passengers.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said services out of the Gold Coast would be
affected the most and the cuts could continue into July.