Flu victim fights for life as Bay cases rise

A young woman with swine flu is still battling for life in Hawke's Bay Hospital while the region's number of cases is approaching 100.
Hawke's Bay has 88 confirmed cases of swine flu, well above other regions such as Waikato, which has 45, and Otago on 14.
A man was also in Hawke's Bay Hospital's Intensive Care Unit with swine flu at the weekend but his condition has since improved and he is now in a general ward.
Another seven Hawke's Bay people are in hospital with swine flu.
The Hawke's Bay District Health Board would not be drawn on whether any of them had underlying medical conditions, for privacy reasons.
Confirmation came at the weekend that a Hamilton teenager had become the country's first fatal case of swine flu, although he was unaware he had it.
Zachary Wilson, 19, had been ill for three or four days but had not been to hospital before he died last Sunday, said Waikato District Health Board medical officer of health  Felicity Dumble.
``What's become apparent with this situation is how quickly this can develop, and somebody can present with what looks like a common cold that may progress to more like influenza and then it can rapidly become something very serious,'' Dr Dumble said.
Mr Wilson's case of swine flu was discovered following an autopsy.
The coroner would examine if any other medical conditions had played a part in Mr Wilson's death, although his family has said he had a history of asthma.
A 42-year-old man also died on Thursday in Christchurch and a young girl became the country's third swine- flu fatality when she died in Wellington Hospital on Saturday morning.
Health Minister Tony Ryall said this morning he expected more New Zealanders to die from the virus.
``Sadly, that is the case,'' Mr Ryall said.
``Every year we lose just over 400 New Zealanders to flu or flu-related complications and swine flu is going to increase that number.''
Following the announcement of the deaths yesterday, Healthline received 2000 calls, director of Public Health Mark Jacobs said.
``There was a definite spike in calls after the news at 6pm, so I encourage people to persevere and keep holding if they call at a busy time and need to wait,'' Mr Jacobs said.