With a fifth suspected swine flu death in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health is warning that New Zealand is experiencing a second wave of the disease.
Although the WHO has announced that the pandemic is over, the pandemic influenza strain is the predominant strain circulating this winter in New Zealand.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“WHO director-general Margaret Chan said the virus had not gone away, and recognised that New Zealand was still experiencing the effects of a second wave of the H1N1 virus.
“Deputy director of public health Darren Hunt yesterday said the country was still seeing a significant level of swine flu, and New Zealanders still needed to remain vigilant as there had been significant outbreaks of influenza in some areas.
“”While some countries have seen H1N1 virus decline or crowded out by other strains, this is not the case in New Zealand,” he said.
“”The pandemic influenza strain is the predominant strain circulating this winter. We are seeing higher levels of hospitalisation in areas that weren’t severely affected last year.”