Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu
WELLINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand officials will continue to
use the term "swine flu" despite the World Health Organization (WHO) now
referring to it as influenza A (H1N1).
The "swine flu" label will stick so as not to confuse people, the Ministry
of Health said on Friday after the WHO stopped calling the influenza strain
"swine flu" at the request of meat producers facing a backlash from consumers
mistakenly associating the flu with pork products.
In New Zealand, 401 people were now in isolation as a result of the swine
flu outbreak. Many of these were healthy, but had been in contact with others
showing signs of influenza.
As of late Friday, there were officially three confirmed cases and 11
probable cases of swine flu in the country, Health Minister Tony Ryall said.
The number of suspected cases has increased from 111 on Thursday to 136 on
Friday. Meanwhile, another person who had been in contact with infected
Rangitoto College students had developed flu-like symptoms.
The Rangitoto group, which was initially at the center of the scare after
returning from a trip to Mexico early last Saturday, would be considered
non-contagious from early Saturday, and others on the flight would be in the
clear, Ryall said.
Meanwhile, 26 students and four teachers from Lindisfarne College are in
isolation after returning from a music tour through the United States that
included time in California.
By Friday afternoon, 11 students from secondary school Hastings Girls, who
were on the same tour, voluntarily isolated themselves.
The New Zealand government is now ordering more supplies of anti-viral drug
Tamiflu.
Health Minister Ryall said there are 1.25 million courses of Tamiflu
available in case of a pandemic.
A new order has been placed to increase that stock by 10 percent to 1.37
million. Stocks of another anti-viral drug, Relenza, have also been ordered.
Overseas students planning to study in New Zealand are being told there is
no need to put off their travel plans because of swine flu.
Education New Zealand has issued offshore agents with a statement saying a
widespread outbreak is highly unlikely in New Zealand and the government is
taking the issue seriously.
Education New Zealand Chief Executive Robert Stevens said the international
student market is worth 2.3 billion NZ dollars (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) a year
and needs to be protected.
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