Players from champion Queensland rugby league club the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys, who represented their state in Wednesday night's State-of-Origin clash with New South Wales, have been quarantined from their team mates as a precautionary measure after a fellow Queensland player fell ill to the swine flu virus.
Img: Bulldogs forward Ben Hannant. Credit:paddynapper/flickr
A total of 13 National Rugby League (NRL) have been quarantined after Sydney Bulldogs forward Ben Hannant became the first player to contract the virus, a statement from the NRL's governing body has said.
The Queensland players are obeying a Queensland Health directive outlining that anyone who has come into contact with the virus must be quarantined for a period of 72 hours.
Broncos and Australian captain Darren Lockyer said the quarantine was a precautionary measure and declined to say whether he thought it was an overreaction on the part of health authorities.
"No one is feeling terribly bad. We are just hoping it's a common flu," Lockyer said. "Fingers crossed the virus isn't here and it hasn't spread."
"I don't know whether it's over the top. I don't know know enough about it," he added.
A spokesman for the Bulldogs rugby league team confirmed that prop forward Ben Hannant had contracted the virus after playing in the first of the best-of-three Queensland vs. New South Wales games in Melbourne, capital of Victoria, the state that has seen the worst incidence of swine flu infection in Australia.
The spokesman said Hannant was confident of playing this weekend despite the infection.
"Yes he does have swine flu," the spokesman said. "He is saying it is no big issue. He just feels like he has the flu."
"He is going to be quarantined for two days but is confident of playing against the Broncos on Friday night," the statement continued. "The Bulldogs will ensure that all necessary measures are taken."
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