Mexican Swine Influenza - Update Twelve

Please attribute to Dr Fran McGrath, Deputy Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health.

Results from the 4th H1N1 test
We have received advice from the WHO laboratory in Melbourne who advise that it's now unlikely we will be able to get any results from the 4th H1N1 test as the genetic material in the sample is not of sufficient quality to obtain a meaningful result.

Status of passengers taken to Middlemore Hosptal
Five international travellers (non-NZ residents) are in isolation and being housed at a location in Auckland. They are being treated with Tamiflu and are reported to have mild symptoms.

Influenza Surveillance
New Zealand has a surveillance system to monitor influenza. This has been in place for two and a half years, and provides a 'safety net' for the community, as it gives a clear picture of viruses which are currently circulating. Surveillance of influenza-like illness in the community is operated by the Ministry of Health and ESR. It has a number of components and spans the traditional 'flu season.

Two components are:

calls to Healthline (total calls meeting a case definition of influenza like illness)
patient consultations at 81 sentinel GP practices around the country that meet the case definition for influenza like illness.
This information is received and analysed weekly using software developed by the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta. This enables us to identify any unusual activity regionally and by age group. Monitoring this year has shown that flu-like illness is low to date.

A further component is the surveillance of individual cases and contacts carried out by local public health units on the basis of reports from schools, GPs and other sources. In addition, ESR operates sentinel surveillance on behalf of Ministry of Health via a general practice network of 70 practices which undertakes systematic weekly sampling of patients with symptoms of influenza for laboratory testing to determine which flu viruses are circulating in the community, throughout New Zealand .

ESR's capability to test for swine flu
Currently, tests for swine flu are being sent to the WHO regional laboratory in Melbourne.

In response to the presence of Swine flu in New Zealand, ESR is prioritising the testing required and augmenting the capacity and capability of its virology services by bringing in trained staff from other areas of work.

ESR will perform a range of molecular biological tests including PCR and sequencing, to identify Influenza A viruses and confirm swine 'flu strains. In its role as the National Influenza Centre for New Zealand, ESR will confirm its sequencing results with the WHO Collaborating Centre in Melbourne. The first specimens to be tested at ESR arrived from Auckland yesterday.

ESR's 'flu expert, Dr Sue Haung, who has been attending a Influenza conference at WHO, will arrive back in New Zealand tomorrow.

If you're feeling unwell....
Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Fran McGrath, said if you’re feeling unwell and haven’t travelled in the affected areas in the seven days before becoming ill, do what you’d usually do - there is no cause for concern. Stay home, drink plenty of fluids and take panadol for pain or fever. If necessary phone your doctor for further advice.

However, if you have returned from Mexico or the USA in the past seven days, and start to develop symptoms of influenza you should phone a health professional for further advice as soon as you start feeling unwell.

Anyone wanting more information should call Healthline 0800 611 116.

For the 24 hours to midnight on Tuesday Healthline answered 1381 calls. This is almost double their usual workload.

Symptoms of influenza
Symptoms of influenza include:

Sudden onset of illness
Fever above 38 degrees Celsius
Fatigue
Muscle pains
Runny nose/cough/sore throat
In some cases, people also have vomiting and diarrhoea.

“The vaccination for seasonal influenza is unlikely to protect you from swine influenza, however, I would encourage people to have an influenza immunisation as it’s something they can do to help themselves stay healthy.

“Currently there is no vaccination for Swine Flu,” Dr McGrath said.

Protecting yourself from influenza
“The most important thing we can do to protect ourselves is regular and effective hand washing. When coughing or sneezing cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterwards promptly dispose of the tissue and wash your hands.

Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose, ears and eyes as mucous membranes can let the virus in to your body through your airways or eyes.

Border control
Every international flight coming to New Zealand from affected areas is being screened. Public health information is being read out on board these flights. This information can be found on the Travel Advisory section of the Ministry of Health's Swine Flu webpage www.moh.govt.nz

ENDS

For further information, please contact Karalyn van Deursen (021) 832 459