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Plane passenger suspected of having AI
Australian authorities were on high alert Wednesday
after it was suspected that a passenger on a plane to Sydney from Vietnam may
have been suffering from avian influenza.
The passenger, who was flying to Australia from Vietnam, was assessed as
being unwell, according to a statement from the
New South Wales Health
Department. As he had previously suffered an influenza-like infection and
had been staying in an area where he had been in prolonged contact with
chickens, Australian authorities acted quickly to assess the incoming traveller
for
bird
flu.
It has since emerged, however, that the man may have been a drug courier
who became ill after a condom containing heroin burst in his stomach.
Australian authorities have yet to confirm reports that the man was treated
with Narcan, a medicine used to treat heroin overdoses, in the ambulance on the
way to the hospital.
However, Australia's The Age newspaper cites NSW Health Communicable
Diseases Director Jeremy McAnulty as saying: "It turns out that [bird flu] is a
very unlikely diagnosis. But the person's still being assessed in hospital.
Our concern is whether a person has a quarantinable disease or avian
influenza, and at this stage it seems very unlikely that that's the case.â€
Local news reports have also indicated that the man is now a person of
interest to the
Australian
Federal Police, which has not confirmed the nature of its investigations at
this stage.
Editor WorldPoultry
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