Influenza A (H1N1) Swine Flu - Update Ninety-six | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

Dr Mark Jacobs, Director of Public Health said the Ministry of Health and health services around New Zealand continue to focus on managing the pandemic, with our priorities being providing services to those most in need, and providing advice to New Zealanders on how they and their families can reduce the risk of infection.

For most New Zealanders, swine flu will be a mild illness, but in some instances, the virus can cause more severe illness and in a few tragic instances, death.

"We know that people with some significant underlying medical conditions are at greater risk, however, it's important to remember that overseas experience has shown that some previously healthy people have also been seriously affected by swine flu," he said.

We all need to remain vigilant, and our advice remains the same:

If you're sick, stay home and avoid crowded places
Cover coughs and sneezes
Wash and dry your hands often and thoroughly
Seek medical advice either if the someone with other significant medical conditions develops flu, or if anyone with flu gets worse - for example if they have difficulty breathing, get drowsier or their temperature gets higher and does not come down after taking medication such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
Healthline has registered nurses answering calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week - call 0800 611 116 or your own doctor.

Following the announcement of three deaths yesterday, Healthline experienced a 40% increase in the volume of calls, with 2000 calls received. "There was a definite spike in calls after the news at 6:00pm, so I encourage people to persevere and keep holding if they call at a busy time and need to wait.

"Swine flu will be with us for quite some time and is continuing to spread throughout the community, but there is no cause for alarm," Dr Jacobs said.

Latest Numbers
The cumulative total of confirmed cases in New Zealand is 961, up from 945 yesterday. The number of probable cases is 62. The number of deaths associated with influenza A (H1N1) is three.

The cumulative total of confirmed cases by region are:
Northland (20), Auckland (202), Waikato (45), Bay of Plenty/Lakes (29), Gisborne (2), Hawkes Bay (84), Taranaki (3), Wanganui/Palmerston North (14), Wellington (292), Nelson/Marlborough (22), Canterbury (234), Otago/Southland (14).

Australian situation
As at noon on Saturday 4 July, Australia had 5254 confirmed cases. At that time the total number of Australian deaths associated with the new influenza A (H1N1) was 10.

International Update from the World Health Organization
WHO figures were last updated on 3 July 2009 at 09:00 GMT, where 89,921 cases of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) 09 infection have been reported internationally, including 382 deaths.

The breakdown of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases by country is given in the following table:
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_07_03/en/index.html

ENDS

For health information and advice, the public should call Healthline 0800 611 116.