Three Pacific Dawn crew catch swine flu off Australia

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A luxury cruise ship having 2,000 passengers on board has had to return to an Australian port, cutting short its voyage, so that three crew members diagnosed with swine flu could receive medical attention. According to officials, this was the second occurrence of a swine flu break-out on the ship.

The P&O ship departed on a 10-day cruise from Sydney early last week, heading to the tropical waters off the north-east coast Australia and over the Great Barrier Reef. This was just hours after the cruise ship returned from a voyage on which several people came down with flu-like symptoms.

On the earlier trip, 24 passengers and crew members were eventually diagnosed as having swine flu, although the first case wasn’t confirmed until the ship departed on another cruise.

Nicola Roxon, Australia’s health minister, said three crew members on board P&O Cruises ship Pacific Dawn tested positive for the H1N1 virus last Thursday. Two of the passengers that became sick were tested, but cleared of swine flu.

The report came as Australia’s swine flu cases rose from 67 on Wednesday to 147 by late Thursday.

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