Sick fans urged to avoid Eden Park

All Blacks fans enjoying a match from last season's Tri-Nations series at Eden Park. Photo / Richard Robinson

Health officials are warning spectators at the biggest event in Auckland since the swine flu outbreak to take care.

Rugby fans are being urged to stay away from Saturday's All Blacks versus Wallabies match if they have any symptoms of the virus.

Eden Park's reduced 32,000-seat capacity is sold out for the first game in this year's Tri-Nations series.

Deputy Director of Public Health Fran McGrath says people should be considerate and watch the game on television if they think they might be sick, no matter how much they want to be at the park.

Healthy fans should not share beer and should use a hand sanitiser before tucking into a hot dog.

And while she acknowledged it might be difficult, Dr McGrath said people should stay a metre away from anyone who looked like they might be ill.

"If you have symptoms, don't go - you might feel well enough, but be considerate to everyone else.

"Try to stay one metre distant from anyone who's unwell, although it's a bit hard to tell."

She admitted the advice might sound "pious" for a rugby game, but it was important to use an alcohol-based hand gel because the flu virus could stay alive on surfaces such as hand rails.

New Zealand's total number of confirmed swine flu cases rose by 41 yesterday to 2025, up from 1984 a day earlier.

Most people with flu-like symptoms are not being tested, so the true number is likely to be much higher.

Dr McGrath said there was evidence the number of people with flu symptoms calling Healthline or seeing doctors had steadied in the past week, probably because of school holidays.

But it was likely to be months before the virus reached its peak.

About 1500 people a day are calling the ministry's Healthline for flu advice.

The number of New Zealand deaths remained at nine yesterday, and authorities said that for most people, swine flu was likely to be mild and easily managed at home.

A new study has shed light on why swine flu appears to affect some young, relatively healthy people more severely than conventional seasonal flu.

Christchurch virologist Dr Lance Jennings said a University of Wisconsin study, published in the journal Nature, might explain why some young, healthy people were developing severe pneumonia and being admitted to hospital.

The study tested swine flu on ferrets and monkeys and found it spread further and deeper into their respiratory systems than ordinary flu. It was also more likely to lead to pneumonia.

But the study gave a ray of hope for a few people ... if they are aged more than 91.

It found people born before the 1918 flu epidemic had developed antibodies that gave them some protection from the latest strain.

The study repeated earlier warnings that the virus - while mild for most people at the moment - could return in a more serious form, as happened in 1918.

"It could be a scorpion-like virus and come back with a sting in its tail," said Dr Jennings.