Officials in Australia's federal government say they have a detailed national action plan for a possible influenza pandemic.
The government has been stockpiling anti-viral drugs and released 35,000 information kits to health professionals Monday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
"If there was a pandemic outbreak and we didn't have preparations in place, we could expect within the first three months 2.6 million people seeking medical attention, 58,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths," said Health Minister Tony Abbott. "So we're talking about a very serious predicament should it happen."
The World Health Organization, monitoring the spread of bird flu in Southeast Asia, has said the world is closer than ever to a pandemic -- with a 10 percent chance of an outbreak.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
