Qantas passengers, crew quarantined in swine flu scare

A group of 41 Qantas passengers and crew have been quarantined in Shanghai and could be confined for up to a week, pending test results for swine flu.

Chinese health authorities have confirmed that at least one passenger on board the flight had been infected with the virus.
"As a result, a number of passengers and a small number of crew have been quarantined, as is a requirement of local authorities," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

Earlier, Monash University associate professor Margaret Lindorff said she and other passengers had not been told how long the quarantine would last, but believed there had been a positive test.

Dr Lindorff said staff wearing masks, gowns and gloves boarded flight QF129 when the aircraft landed in Shanghai.

She said the staff performed tests with temperature sensors on passengers and crew, then four passengers were taken to hospital. 
After a three-hour wait on the plane, others who had been seated near the passengers were taken about 30 kilometres away to Motel 168 for quarantine.

Dr Lindorff, who had travelled to Shanghai with her grandchildren, said the quarantined group included two crew members.

Each group member was accommodated in a single room, given masks and thermometers and told not to leave the motel.

"Everyone is going stir crazy," she said.

She said the group members were told not to go beyond the motel's front foyer area, or congregate in areas to ensure they did not infect each other.