Swine Flu update - Hawkes Bay DHB

April 29, 2009-04-29

Swine Flu update

All nine Hawke’s Bay passengers on board the same flight as the students with swine flu are showing no signs of influenza.

The passengers were visited yesterday by a public health nurse and had no flu like symptoms but were offered Tamiflu and asked to quarantine themselves at home.

Medical Officer of Health Caroline McElnay said Hawke’s Bay District Health Board urged anyone who has recently returned from North America or Mexico and had flu like symptoms to phone their GP for advice.

Dr McElnay said it was a time for caution, concern but not alarm and the public needed to listen to public health messages and most importantly prevent catching or spreading the flu with frequent hand washing, keeping sick children at home not going to work if sick and covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

The normal symptoms of influenza include fever, cough, headache, muscle aches and pains, runny nose and sore throat. Patients with the Swine flu in Mexico and North America have also reported nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Anyone with flu like symptoms, who had not recently returned from America or Mexico or who had been in direct contact with someone who had swine flu, should treat it as a normal flu or cold and stay home keep warm and if the symptoms worsen contact their GP.

ENDS

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