Swine flu toll rises: 'No need to panic' 29 June 2009, 07:58 THE CAPE TIMES By Kanina Foss
Two more cases of swine flu were confirmed in South Africa on Friday, bringing the total count of H1N1 infections to four.
Health spokeperson Fidel Hadebe said both people had contracted the virus outside the country. One entered SA from London on June 24, and the other - the first confirmed case outside Gauteng - is a woman who arrived from the US on June 20.
Hadebe said the two latest cases were not severe. "They are not in any danger whatsoever. They are recovering at home in isolation. They can't interact with the broader community until the end of their seven-day incubation period."
The first confirmed case in SA was a 12-year-old boy who entered the country from the US. The second was a 29-year-old South African rugby player, now living in France, who had come to Gauteng to visit his family. Hadebe said both were long past their incubation periods, and were presumed to be fully recovered.
There were no suspected cases in the country. Hadebe added that SA's preparedness plans had been endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). "We still maintain there is no need to panic, we are able to respond."
According to the WHO, there have been 263 deaths and nearly 60 000 infections in about 100 countries and regions. The same figures show fewer than 30 000 infections and 127 deaths in the US - though the US infection figure could be as high as 1 million.
THE CAPE TIMES 29th June 2009 - This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 29, 2009
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