Melbourne (PTI): Swine flu, which has killed more than 100 people in Mexico is more dangerous than bird flu as it "rapidly spreads", an expert has said even as Australia took series of steps including 'flight screening' for passengers coming from America to protect itself from the outbreak.

Swine flu is more worrying to humans than bird flu because it has the potential to spread to more people, Paul Kelly from Australian National University said.

Mr. Kelly said while swine flu had claimed many lives in Mexico, there had been no deaths elsewhere.

Those killed have been generally young and otherwise healthy. "It's not the typical people that are at greatest risk during a normal flu season," he was quoted as saying by media reports.

Meanwhile, Australian experts said that existing vaccines are unlikely to be effective against an outbreak of swine flu, but anti-viral drugs can help to combat it.

Health officials have given advice about the outbreak to GPs and hospital emergency departments and want any suspected cases to be reported to authorities.