Swine flu deaths climb to 20

File photo / NZ Herald

Two new deaths linked to swine flu have been confirmed today, but the prevalence of the influenza strain is decreasing, says the Ministry of Health.

The two latest people to die from the H1N1 virus were patients at Middlemore and Auckland City hospitals, bringing the total number of swine flu deaths this year to 20.

The patient at Middlemore was an 82-year-old man with underlying medical conditions who died on September 12, while the patient at Auckland was a 37-year-old man with no other medical conditions who died on September 10.

Despite the new deaths the prevalence of swine-flu was decreasing and intensive care units were seeing a lot less admissions in recent weeks, deputy director of public health Darren Hunt said.

People were still advised to follow basic hygiene measures and seek medical advice if they were suffering influenza symptoms, Dr Hunt said.

"It's still important to seek medical advice early, particularly for people with underlying medical conditions or who are severely overweight or pregnant as they are at greater risk of a more severe illness," he said.

People were advised to call their GPs before going in to their surgeries to help prevent swine flu spreading to others.

- NZPA