ASID (H1CS1G) position statement: infection control guidelines for patients with influenza-like illnesses, including pandemic (H1N1) influenza 2009, in Australian health care facilities

The emergence of the novel pandemic (H1N1) 2009 strain has had a significant impact on Australian health care facilities. At the start of the pandemic, there was uncertainty about the modes of transmission. Infection control measures were designed to protect the vulnerable against a disease in which transmissibility was reported as substantially higher than that of seasonal influenza. Initial evidence from animal transmission studies has now shown comparable transmissibility between the pandemic and seasonal strains. On 17 June 2009, the Australian Government announced a new pandemic response phase — "Protect" — and issued a new technical annex to the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (AHMPPI) for this phase. This annex included updated infection control advice replacing some of the recommendations in the original AHMPPI Interim infection control guidelines for pandemic influenza in healthcare and community settings 2006.