Australia's top doctor called for calm on Thursday over the rapid spread of the A/H1N1 flu in the country.

The nation's chief medical officer Jim Bishop said so far the virus had been relatively mild in Australia and it would not necessarily follow the same pattern as other countries.

"We've always said that essentially people should not be alarmed by this illness," Bishop said. "It is a mild illness in almost everybody (affected)," he said.

"I think you will see lots of figures bandied about and these are based on overseas data which ... may not be relevant," he added.

Bishop authorized the release on Thursday of a batch of antiviral medication from Australia's stockpile.

Meanwhile, Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon said just four people had been hospitalized with the virus, although the numbers infected had tripled in two days to 104.

"We will purchase ... doses to cover 10 million people, based on the current expert advice that this is sufficient to contain the spread of the disease," Roxon said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2009)