“As soon as people start travelling it increases the chance of it spreading,” Tracey Oakman, director of the public health unit for the Greater Southern Area Health Service said.

She said that both Victoria and the ACT had lots of recorded cases so the chances of people coming into the area with infective influenza were higher.

“Effectively we just have to assume that swine flu is now everywhere in NSW, that it is in our community.

“No town is safe or protected from it and we all need to take precautions.”

Ms Oakman said that NSW Health’s focus was no longer on testing people to confirm whether or not they had the flu but on treating any sick people with flu-like symptoms and telling them to stay at home.

She said that the highest risk group in terms of catching the flu appeared to be the younger population in their early 20s.

But the higher risk categories in terms of the seriousness of the disease are pregnant women, those suffering with a chronic disease or morbidly obese and Indigenous Australians.

Ms Oakman said that Tamiflu and Relenza anti-virals used to treat swine flu, officially designated H1N1 Influenza 09, were now being made available through general practitioners.

“You no longer need to go to hospital for treatment or to the chemist to get the drugs,” she said. “Your local GP will have supplies available and the Tamiflu treatment is free to patients.”

Ms Oakman said that anyone with flu-like symptoms should go to their GP at once.

“Early treatment is the only way to beat the flu symptoms with the anti-virals most effective in the first 48 hours.

“So sufferers should not wait. Seek treatment immediately. You will know when you have the flu. It is nastier than a cold.”

“It is particularly important that people who are unwell with influenza do not visit sick, elderly or pregnant women or young children and avoid visiting hospitals unless requiring treatment for their own illness,” NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

She said the influenza produced a mild illness in most, a severe illness in some, and was a moderate illness overall.

Symptoms included fever, chills, cough, sore throat, tiredness and muscle aches, and some people had also complained of vomiting and diarrhoea.