Whanau urged to take caution

With winter round the corner and the arrival of swine flu in Aotearoa, Tariana Turia is urging tangata whenua to be on the alert for flu symptoms.

"We must be alert to the vulnerability of our neighbours, our whanau and our communities to what we might otherwise dismiss as seasonal flu.

"The Tamiflu antiviral medicine is available to all age groups and I'd seriously suggest that people who have chest, coughing and fever problems go straight to their doctor."

"We must do as much as possible to safeguard our health, remembering the impact of 1918. We must do this as a nation to ensure we make the investment now in every precious life - rather than to have to cope with the devastation of death."

In 1918 an influenza epidemic killed between 1130 to 2160 Maori people - five times the European rate.

"I know this history because in our rohe, at Parewanui, it hits me every time I walk through our urupa and see the tragic shape of coffins that carried children to their final resting place."

Mrs Turia also urged people to take caution in balancing cultural responsibilities with "common-sense" self-management of one's health.

"Our respect for manaakitanga might also mean that people exercise common-sense when they are sick, and think twice about going to hui or venues and sharing their flu with everyone there. Stay home; look after your health and everyone else's," Mrs Turia said.