The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in New Zealand has risen from three to four, but two people that arrived before the Anzac Day flight have been cleared, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health.
There are now 12 probable cases of swine flu, people
who had tested positive for influenza A, down from 13.
The number of suspected cases has fallen to 116 from 136.
Some 388 people are now in isolation and being treated with Tamiflu, many of whom were healthy but had been in contact with others showing signs of influenza.
That was down from 401 earlier today.
New Zealand's swine flu scare emerged on Sunday after a group of Rangitoto College students returned form a trip to Mexico on an Air New Zealand flight and started showing flu symptoms.
The affected students will be considered non-contagious from early tomorrow, and others on the flight will be in the clear.
The two people who arrived in New Zealand before the April 25 flight and were being treated as probable cases have now been cleared of having swine flu, said Mark Jacobs, director of public health.
One probable case has been added, believed to be someone who arrived on Sunday April 26 from Los Angeles.
Dr Jacobs said seven people from a Hawke's Bay group, including Lindisfarne College students, had been showing signs of influenza after returning home from North America on Tuesday.
Pharmacies have seen an increase in the sale of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, which became available over the counter without a prescription today, but only to people showing signs of the flu.
While there were not hordes of people coming in to buy the drug, of which there had been 8000 courses on shelves before today, it was a busier than average day, Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young said.
"It's a bit like if there was a rugby game, people would be talking about the rugby, but today they are all talking about Tamiflu," Ms Young said.
The Green Party said the cost of the anti-viral drug put it "out of the reach of many".
It was "unfair and dangerous" for people to be faced with a bill of over $70, it said.
Six listings of Tamiflu appeared for sale on Trade Me today before being pulled by the internet auction site, the New Zealand Herald reported.
It is illegal to sell Tamiflu privately, and Trade Me also had a policy of not allowing therapeutic medicines to be sold on the site.
Meanwhile, New Zealand officials will continue to use the term "swine flu" despite the World Health Organisation (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 today.
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 Mexico, the deaths of more than 150 people have been blamed on swine flu, although health officials say the number of confirmed cases is 99, including eight dead.
WHO has declared a Phase 5 outbreak, the second highest on its threat scale, indicating a pandemic could be imminent. Thirty-three countries had now notified the WHO they had either suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu.
Director-General of Health Stephen McKernan said plans to set up an isolated influenza assessment centre in the vicinity of Auckland International Airport were still being discussed.
- NZPA
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Anyone who has travelled to Mexico or North America in the last seven days should contact Healthline (0800 611 116) for information. They should seek medical advice if they are displaying flu-like symptoms. Click here for the Ministry of Health’s influenza website.
