Seven on swine flu alert in Waikato

Swine flu preparedness is ramping back up in the Waikato with confirmation there are now seven possible cases in the region.

The news comes as the World Health Organisation is tipped to confirm a worldwide pandemic in the next 36 hours its highest warning level.

The seven people suspected of carrying swine flu in the Waikato are all in isolation and the Waikato District Health Board noted four of them had travelled into the country from Australia. The seven had been swabbed and given Tamiflu.

With the number of Kiwi suspected cases passing 50 yesterday, all patients turning up at Health Waikato emergency departments at Waikato, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Tokoroa and Thames hospitals, who have influenza-like illness and have travelled overseas within 14 days, are being asked to wear masks in waiting rooms as a precaution.

The Canterbury DHB yesterday recommended people returning from anywhere overseas and who felt ill should not return to work. A similar warning was not being issued by the Waikato DHB. However, the DHB and primary care organisations met yesterday to discuss planning for a possible move to what it called Code Red.

Meanwhile, a cruise ship with a suspected swine flu case on board is preparing to dock in Auckland.

The female passenger and about a dozen close contacts on board were to be quarantined when the Pacific Sun arrived this morning.

Shaun Drummond, chief operating officer at Capital and Coast District Health Board, said the World Health Organisation was likely to raise its warning level to 6 an official pandemic either today or tomorrow.

Cases of influenza A (H1N1) virus are still rising across the world, with the virus now spreading outside North America and Mexico, where it is believed to have originated.

Nearly 17,500 people in 62 countries have caught the virus and at least 115 people have died.

Deputy director of public health Darren Hunt said the WHO alert remained "under active review".

The Health Ministry was "watching with concern" the rapid increase in Australian cases.

- © Fairfax NZ News