The Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon said on Wednesday that the A/H1N1 virus will become the most dominant influenza strain in Australia.

Roxon said testing conducted in the week ending on June 20 showed almost two-thirds of influenza cases were A/H1N1 flu.

"It seems likely from this pattern that A/H1N1 flu will be the dominant ... flu that we experience in Australia and is likely to replace the existing seasonal flu," she told reporters.

Roxon said the government would invest 7 million Australian dollars (US$5.5 million) in 41 A/H1N1 flu research projects across the country.

The funding includes more than 300,000 Australian dollars (US$236,186) for a study into the efficacy of face masks.

There are 6,378 confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in Australia, but not every person with flu-like symptoms is being tested, so the actual figure is likely to be higher. At least 13 people with A/H1N1 flu have died in Australia as of Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2009)