Results of First H1N1 Trial to be Known within Weeks

Australia 's chief medical officer Jim Bishop said on Tuesday while anti virus were effective in children by reducing symptoms for one or two days they should not be considered a cure-all for A/H1N1 flu.

A world-first trial of a A/H1N1 flu vaccine in children began in Australia on Monday with the results expected to be known within weeks , Xinhua reports.

Meanwhile, at least 190 Western Cape schools have reported suspected cases of swine flu and up to a quarter of the province's pupils are staying home sick.
But while some schools have reported even higher levels of absenteeism, Education MEC Donald Grant said on Monday the 20-25 percent rate was "not that unusual" for this time of year - the annual flu season peak.
In an average year, about 20 percent of pupils are likely to be home sick with colds or flu, he said , Independent Online reports.

However, with the first death in the Maharashtra's IT hub Pune last week, companies are a worried lot. From Infosys Technologies, L&T , Mahindra & Mahindra, Mahindra Satyam, HP, IBM, EXL, Videocon, Microsoft to Google and Wipro, the who's who of industry are facing a scare of employees testing positive to a strain of H1N1 , Economic Times reports.