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JAKARTA: Indonesia expressed concern Wednesday that Australian tourists are bringing H1N1 flu to the resort island of Bali, after it confirmed its first two cases of the virus.
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said she was "very worried" that Australians who flock to Bali's famous surf beaches would spread the virus in a country that had so far avoided the worst of the pandemic.
"Honestly I'm very worried about people who come from Australia," she told reporters at a press conference held to announce the first two confirmed cases in Indonesia, including a British woman who lived in Australia.
"We have to be more vigilant about Australian tourists so there won't be more cases of H1N1 from Australia. One is enough."
The 22-year-old Briton was recovering in hospital in Bali after travelling to Indonesia from her home in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, Dr. Agus Somia of Bali's Sanglah Hospital told AFP.
The pilot, 37, had travelled to Australia and Hong Kong before being diagnosed with (A)H1N1 in Indonesia, Supari said.
Both patients had been isolated and were recovering, she said, adding: "No Indonesians have been infected with H1N1 flu here. It has all come from outside.
"Don't panic. It won't cause death but we should all be careful."
She said Indonesia was "taking specific action" at Bali's international airport at Denpasar, one of Indonesia's main entry points for foreign tourists especially Australians, to monitor passengers for H1N1.
Australia has 2,873 H1N1 flu cases, more than half of them in Victoria. The country has recorded three H1N1 flu-related deaths.
More than 310,000 Australians visited Bali last year, according to official figures.
Indonesian authorities have increased the use of body temperature scanners at airports and banned imports of live pigs and pork products in a bid to combat the disease, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
A(H1N1), which emerged in Mexico in April, has killed 231 people worldwide and infected more than 52,000 people in over 100 countries, but no cases had been confirmed in Indonesia until Thursday.
Indonesia is the country hardest hit by the H5N1 bird flu virus, with 115 dead, according to official figures.
- AFP/yt
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