Swine flu update - Sorry... Influenza A/H1N1...

Poor piggies are copping the flak on this one, and being slaughtered in various countries around the world, even though you can't catch H1N1, as it's now being relabelled, from eating infected pork.

Here's the latest statistics provided to us by Regional Public Health and the Ministry of Health.

The Wellington region currently has 2 suspect cases. A total of 22 suspected cases have already been cleared of having swine flu (H1N1 influenza). There have been no confirmed cases in our region.

New Zealand has four cases confirmed positive for Influenza A (H1N1). There are a further 13 probable cases (all close contacts or passengers on NZ1), and 89 suspected and probable cases.

In total there are 360 people in isolation and being treated with Tamiflu (up 91 from 269 on Saturday). This includes suspected cases and people without symptoms who are being isolated as a precaution because they were in close contact with a suspected case.

An additional probable case in Auckland arrived on flight NZ7 from San Francisco on Tuesday 28 April. This person has tested positive for Influenza A and samples have been sent to ESR as part of further testing to determine whether or not they have Influenza A (H1N1) Swine Flu.

As of 1200hrs, 4 May 2009 18 countries have officially reported 898 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection. The United States Government has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (85), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (3), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (40), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15).

Canada, on 2 May, reported the identification of the A (H1N1) virus in a swine herd in Alberta. It is highly probable that the pigs were exposed to the virus from a Canadian farm worker recently returned from Mexico, who had exhibited flu-like symptoms and had contact with the pigs. There is no indication of virus adaptation through transfer from human to pigs at this time.

The numbers really aren't looking as exciting as first reported.