10 battle swine flu in intensive care

Hospitals in Auckland and Northland have 41 confirmed cases of swine flu. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Ten people are fighting for their lives in Auckland and Northland hospitals after testing positive for swine flu.

Most of those in intensive care with the virus are believed to have underlying health problems, but at least two otherwise healthy people - not from Auckland and Northland - have spent time in intensive care with swine flu.

Figures for the whole country are due to be released by the Ministry of Health today, including how many people seriously ill with swine flu already had other health conditions.

Seven people have died of swine flu in New Zealand so far.

Figures from four district health boards in Northland and Auckland yesterday showed 120 people were in hospital with flu-like symptoms, including from ordinary seasonal flu.

That was not an unusually high number for this time of year, said a spokeswoman for the boards.

Forty-one of those hospitalised had confirmed swine flu, or H1N1.

Auckland had 18 people in hospital with confirmed swine flu, Counties Manukau had 10, Northland eight, and Waitakere and North Shore - which share a district health board - had five between them.

Ten swine flu-positive patients were in intensive care: six in Auckland, one in Waitakere and North Shore, two in Counties Manukau and one in Northland. New Zealand's cumulative total of confirmed cases is now 1779, up from 1555 on Friday.

Only a small proportion of people with flu symptoms are now being tested for swine flu, and health authorities are no longer releasing a tally of confirmed cases for each region.

The Ministry of Health will detail today how many people are consulting GPs, are being admitted to hospital or are in intensive care.

One of the patients critically ill with swine flu in Auckland was teenager Claudia Teague, a Year 9 student from Woodford House in Havelock North, who is in Starship children's hospital after becoming sick in the holidays.

The teenager, who is also on dialysis because her kidneys are failing, was flown to the Starship from Hawkes Bay Hospital, reported the Hawke's Bay Today newspaper.

The Auckland District Health Board declined to give an update on her status last night, citing her parents' wishes.

Last week, an otherwise healthy 17-year-old Wellington woman was downgraded from a critical to a serious but stable condition by Wellington Hospital.

A 29-year-old man also with suspected swine flu and no underlying medical conditions spent time in intensive care after being admitted to Gisborne Hospital.

The World Health Organisation has stopped showing the number of confirmed cases for all countries worldwide. The Health Ministry said that was because many countries - including New Zealand - now had too many cases to get accurate tests.

* Warning signs

The Ministry of Health advises people to call a doctor or Healthline (0800 611 116) if the ill person:

Starts to feel better, then gets worse.

Has a temperature of 38C or greater.

Has chills or severe shaking.

Has difficulty breathing or chest pain.

Has purple or blue discoloration of the lips.

Is less responsive than normal, is unusually quiet, or becomes confused.

Is vomiting and unable to keep liquids down.

Has signs of dehydration such as dizziness when standing, not urinating, and in infants, a lack of tears when they cry.

Has seizures or convulsions.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA