BREAKING NEWS: Actor flu could drag on for months

A leading surgeon has warned that the Actor Influenza (AI), currently ripping through Sydney and Melbourne could drag on for several more months unless the public complied with strict protocols to help eradicate the disease.

Dr Theseus Pianne, who runs Surry Hills Health Clinic, believes Department of Arts officials were right by adopting a containment policy to eradicate the disease but warned it would be in vain if the public did not follow the procedures.

"This could all be over in one or two months if people comply, but if they don't then it will be a long and drawn out process," Dr Pianne said.

"It's a highly contagious virus and it can spread at a million miles an hour if you are in a confined space, like a theatre and that what's people don't realise. That's how fast it can spread."

Dr Pianne's warning followed reports that people stranded at the Stables Theatre in Sydney, the site where AI was first confirmed in New South Wales, have frequently left to make trips into the city where they mingled with locals.

Dr Pianne said the outbreak of the Actor Flu in NSW was nowhere near as bad as in Victoria where another three actors had confirmed cases of Actor Flu at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.

"People have got to realise they transfer this disease from actors. Going to the theatre has now become a very dangerous lifestyle choice," Dr Pianne said.

"Melbourne is horrendous and it's spreading too rapidly there. The public just can't stop themselves from going to see shows.

"We know the theatres where it is in NSW and we've got it relatively contained, so we need to make sure it doesn't jump out.

"This disease has got to be treated seriously by the public and individually they should quarantine themselves, any actors in their family and not let any actor agents into their homes."
Dr Pianne is against a push to vaccinate the every actor in the country against Actor Flu despite calls for injections from some of the country's leading breeders including NIDA general manager Aubrey Mellor, who claimed the policy of containment had failed.

"It is apparent that the virus is airborne as theatres have been in lockdown for two weeks," Mr Mellor said.

However, Dr Pianne said there was a lot of doubt on which vaccine would stop the virus.

"The vaccine we have in Australia probably won't stop this virus, which means we'd have to import a new vaccine which would be very expensive," he said.

"The biggest threat with this outbreak is the breaches of actors touring the country in shows."

The Stables Theatre has been the main area affected by the virus in NSW and it has spread from there to nearby theatres Belvoir St and Darlinghurst Theatre.

A total of 20 theatres were also under quarantine in NSW.

Actor Teachers Association president Jason Blake has blasted the quarantine procedures at the Stables Theatre as farcical.

Mr Blake said Belvoir St and Darlinghurst Theatre - two of Sydney's biggest independent theatres - would not have been infected had controls been tighter at the Stables Theatre.

"People are coming in and out of the Stables Theatre like a revolving door," Mr Blake said.

"How does that equate to proper quarantine procedures? It's not a football game."

The concerns on Sunday prompted NSW Arts Minister Frank Sartor to order an independent review of quarantine procedures at the Stables Theatre.

This follows on from the struggling theatre industry receiving a significant boost yesterday with the unveiling of a $110 million Actor Flu rescue package.

The announcement of the Federal Government assistance plan came as the State Government faced continuing criticism over its perceived lack of support for the arts industry.

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