Australia discusses flu outbreak plans
Updated
Australia's readiness to deal with an outbreak of bird flu will be high on the agenda at a forthcoming conference on infectious diseases.
As the nation's stockpile of antiviral flu drugs nears its use-by date, delegates at the second Pandemic Influenza and Workplace Infectious Diseases meeting will debate what should be done to address the issue.
Buying new stocks of the drugs could cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars, but experts say not restocking is a risky strategy that could leave Australia dangerously exposed in the event of an outbreak of avian flu.
Other options include relying on overseas supplies and making antivirals available to individuals, although health experts are not encouraging this approach.
