Australasian health chiefs join forces to ward off killer bug

International concern is mounting that a mystery illness sweeping through Asia may be as bad as the 1918 flu epidemic that killed millions around the world.

Nine people have died and 150 are seriously ill across the world. Normal flu vaccinations have had no effect on the bug.

New Zealand and Australian health authorities yesterday activated committees to monitor the illness and to ensure public health plans for both countries are in place.

The UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) is not yet calling the illness a pandemic, as it must first identify the organism making people ill. At present it is being called severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

However, Prime Minister Helen Clark said there was international concern about the flu-like syndrome, to the extent that the WHO feared it could potentially be as deadly as the flu epidemic that hit the world 85 years ago.

Smaller pandemics struck the United States in 1957 (killing 74,000) and again in 1968 (34,000).

The Director of Public Health, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, said the ministry was taking seriously the international advice it had received.

Information from the WHO about how to assess symptoms of Sars and how to manage it has been circulated to district health boards, all medical officers of health and all public health services.

Information has been particularly targeted at towns and cities with airports and to staff at intensive care units.

Officials have also spoken to airlines and advised them to maintain their current practice of not allowing sick people to fly.

The ministry recommends that any travellers returning from affected countries who develop symptoms should see their doctor.

Hotspots already include China, Vietnam, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Germany and the United States.

The WHO has ensured that details about people who become sick in flight are transmitted to the destination airport so they can be admitted to hospital if necessary upon arrival.

Dr Tukuitonga said the significance of the disease was still emerging. The organism causing it had not yet been identified, and officials could not even confirm if it was a virus.

Information available so far indicated that it appeared to spread like a virus, but it could still be some type of bacterium.

"Obviously anything you don't know about is a difficult devil to deal with," Dr Tukuitonga said.

"To try to identify the organism is the most important thing.

"It's more difficult if you don't know what you're dealing with. So it is a concern."

He said it was feasible that if the condition continued and it was not diagnosed, cases would arrive in New Zealand.

A case reaching this country would be likely to come by air or sea travel.

It was important to note that flu vaccinations were not effective for the condition, but Dr Lush said people should not overreact.

"There are only 150 cases, so in global terms this is quite small.

"But I think it has the potential to become much bigger, and certainly the WHO officials are concerned about that potential."