High school's flu victims join search for cure

Four Rangitoto College students who became the first confirmed New Zealand cases of swine flu have been asked to have further tests to help map a global response to the outbreak.

All the students are now clear of the virus, but have been asked to take a blood test on Monday and to provide a detailed itinerary of their movements in Mexico before their return to New Zealand last month.

They travelled with several other students who did not catch the virus.

"The tests will help us understand why some of them were infected when others were not," said the Director-General of Health Stephen McKernan.

He said the students' participation in the tests would help find a vaccine for the virus.

At a meeting yesterday, attended by parents, teachers and representatives from the Auckland District Health Board and Auckland Regional Public Health, Mr McKernan also praised the way the school responded in isolating and treating the party returning from Mexico.

Experts say have said the swine flu virus is behaving in a manner similar to seasonal influenza.

"With the winter flu season approaching us now, it is important that we just be extra vigilant," Mr McKernan said.

"People should get their flu vaccination, and if they feel unwell, stay home and don't try to do normal everyday stuff."

He said hygiene was the most important step in preventing the spread of flu, and people should wash their hands often with soap or alcohol-based rub, and dry them well.

Mr McKernan will be going to Geneva next week with Health Minister Tony Ryall for the annual World Health Assembly, where he said the flu would be an important topic of discussion.

Rangitoto College principal David Hodge told the students their itineraries would be used to map the virus, and would be compared with movements of other infected travellers, to see if there were any common places they had been in Mexico.

The virus has killed 44 people in Mexico, where the first human-to-human transmissions are believed to have taken place, and two in the United States.

Seasonal flu kills tens of thousands of people a year around the world.

Mr Hodge said this was a "unique opportunity" for the students to be part of a "really big health project" to help find answers to questions the world wants to get about the H1N1 virus.

New Zealand has had four confirmed cases of Influenza A, 14 probable cases and 75 suspected cases.

The number of people in isolation or quarantine and being treated with Tamiflu is 278, down from 464 on Thursday, as people complete their 72-hour quarantine and isolation period.

The Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Darren Hunt said New Zealand remained in the containment phase, and there was no evidence of community transmission.

"That means all of the cases have recently returned from travel in areas of concern or are close contacts of cases."