January 4, 2006

Taiwan man hospitalised in Sydney for flu-like symptoms
 

An airline passenger arriving from Taiwan was hospitalised Wednesday in Sydney after complaining of flu-like symptoms during a flight to Australia, but it is unlikely he has bird flu, health officials said.

Quarantine officials examined the man at Sydney's international airport and took him to a hospital for a routine examination, the New South Wales state's Department of Health said in a written statement.

"This person has no risk for avian influenza, and health experts believe it is unlikely that this will be the diagnosis," the statement said.

The passenger's identity was not released, and it was not immediately clear if he was a Taiwanese citizen.

The man had complained of feeling unwell after arriving on an Eva Air flight from Taiwan's capital, Taipei, said airline spokesman Thomas Lim.

"When he walked out, he said he did not feel well, so we contacted quarantine," Lim said. "We (took) the routine, normal precautions."

No other passengers from the flight were reported to quarantine, Lim said.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed millions of fowl and at least 74 people in Asia since 2003, according to the World Health Organization's website, but Australia has recorded no cases of the disease in either birds or humans.

Most human infections have been blamed on contact with sick birds, but scientists fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans, sparking a human flu pandemic that could kill millions of people.