Influenza A (H1N1) Swine Flu - Update Sunday 7 June 2009

The cumulative total of confirmed cases in New Zealand is 14 (up from 13 yesterday) with another case confirmed.

The new confirmed case is a 46 year old who travelled into NZ from North America on Sunday 31 May and became ill on Tuesday (2 June), confirmed with Influenza A on Friday and confirmed today as Influenza A (H1N1). This person finishes their treatment today and is recovering well at home. This latest case travelled with a previously confirmed case.

All results received to date for the child care centre have been negative apart from the first case confirmed for Influenza A (H1N1) on Friday. This child had travelled back to New Zealand from Australia (26 May).

Acting Clinical Director Auckland Regional Public Health Service Dr Richard Hoskins said it was a great relief that H1N1 had now been ruled out for the lone probable case in the first lot of returned test results from the day care centre.

“We now know that this case has seasonal Influenza A, which is still unpleasant, however we are very relieved they can now be cleared of having H1N1,” said Dr Hoskins.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service is now awaiting test results for a further 24 suspected cases, which will be known tomorrow (Monday 8 June).

As of 12.30pm today, the child care centre situation stands:

Confirmed cases: 1
Probable cases: NIL
Suspected cases: 24
Nationwide, the cumulative total of probable cases is 11. This is unchanged since yesterday.

There are currently 92 suspected cases, up from 68 yesterday. The numbers of suspected cases fluctuate as more people with symptoms are assessed (treated and isolated), and as laboratory testing rules out some suspected cases.

Updated information on the numbers of people in isolation or quarantine and being treated with Tamiflu will be provided on Monday. On Friday, 5 June, there were 66 people in isolation or quarantine. The numbers of people in isolation vary according to when they complete 72 hours of the five-day course of Tamiflu (three days and three nights).

We remain in the 'keep it out' and 'stamp it out' phases. Our priority is to limit the spread of the virus by identifying people who are sick at the border and treating them and close contacts with tamiflu in isolation. We are also identifying and treating individuals who become sick since they've arrived in the country, and their close contacts. This involves considerable work being carried out by public health teams to identify, isolate and treat individuals and their contacts.

All of the cases to date have either been infected overseas or a close contact of a traveller.

By limiting the spread and delaying the transmission of the disease, health authorities aim to delay the spread of the disease in the community. For many people the new disease - Influenza A (H1N1) may be moderate, for a few it will be serious. However the easy spread of the disease means its impact on all New Zealanders may be quite significant as key services and schools could be disrupted if many people were away because of sickness.

While we can't be certain how quickly or how far it may spread, now is the time to ensure we are prepared. That means households, workplaces and schools need to take steps now to prepare.

This is in line with the messages from the World Health Organization. The Ministry's public awareness campaign began yesterday on radio. These messages will be complemented with information in newspapers and at international airports from tomorrow.

International Update from the World Health Organization

The international situation will be updated tomorrow (8 June 2009) as the WHO is not providing updates over the weekend. The situation as reported on Friday - as of 06:00 GMT, 5 June 2009, 69 countries have officially reported 21,940 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 125 deaths.

The Australian situation - as at 5am today, Australia reported 1020 confirmed cases (up from 1009 at the same time the day before). Victoria had 874 cases - more than 85% of Australia's confirmed cases. All Australian states and territories now have at least one confirmed case. (Note: these figures are higher than those reported on the WHO website because of the lag in compiling and checking international figures)

The breakdown of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases by country is given in the following table and map.

Updates on the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak are available on the WHO website on a regular basis (http://www.who.int).

These comments may be attributed to Dr Fran McGrath (Deputy Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health) and Dr Richard Hoskins (Acting Clinical Director, Auckland Regional Public Health Service).

For more information, please call: Paula Martin, Communications Advisor, Northern Region Communications Centre, 021 243 0615, Peter Abernethy, Media Relations Manager, Ministry of Health National Health Coordination Centre, +64 (04) 816 3660 or +64 (021) 243 6805