MANILA, 6 July 2009, 1600 hrs—The number of deaths in the Western Pacific Region associated with Pandemic H1N1 2009 increased to 16 in the reporting period to 6 July, after New Zealand reported that three people with the virus had died.
The first fatality, a 19-year old man in Hamilton, died on 28 June. It is not yet known whether he had underlying health conditions. On 2 July, a 42-year old man with underlying medical conditions died in Christchurch, and on 4 July a young girl with underlying medical problems died in Wellington. All had tested positive to Pandemic H1N1 2009.
New Zealand Minister of Health Tony Ryall said the virus would remain in the community for quite some time. He said there was no cause for alarm as it caused only mild illness in most cases. As the number of cases in New Zealand neared 1 000, health services continued to focus on managing the pandemic, providing services to those most in need, and giving advice on how to reduce the risk of infection.
In Australia, case numbers climbed close to 5 300 as that country announced its 11th death linked to Pandemic H1N1 2009. A 57-year-old man with the virus and serious underlying health conditions, including diabetes, died on 3 July in the state of New South Wales. Australia's Department of Health and Ageing said in a statement that there are 88 people in hospital in Australia with the virus, 24 of whom are in intensive care.
Elsewhere in the Region, Palau and the Cook Islands reported their first confirmed cases. Cook Islands health authorities have established a cough and influenza clinic, and are disseminating information through the media on how good hygiene such as frequent hand-washing and avoiding contact with ill people can prevent the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Singapore announced that its case tally had risen beyond 1 000. Health authorities in that country are encouraging people with flu-like symptoms to seek treatment at clinics rather than go directly to hospitals, in order to relieve the burden on the health system and provide better care to patients with severe illness.
In Brunei Darussalam the tally increased to 124, while Viet Nam also recorded a sharp jump in the number of infections, which now number nearly 200. Infections in China now total 2 101 after 125 new cases were detected on the mainland. Japan, Laos and Vanuatu also reported new cases.
The total number of laboratory confirmed cases in the Western Pacific Region stood at 13 266, as of 6 July, with 16 deaths (in brackets besides the case numbers below) linked to the virus. A number of countries are now into a mitigation phase of their response to the disease and are no longer testing all suspected cases. Some countries are not reporting on a daily basis.
- Australia 5298 (11)
- Brunei Darussalam 124 (1)
- Cambodia 7
- China 1040
- Hong Kong (China) 953
- Macao (China) 47
- Taiwan (China) 61
- Cook Islands 1
- Fiji 2
- Japan 1502
- Lao PDR 5
- Malaysia 112
- New Zealand 961 (3)
- Palau 1
- Papua New Guinea 1
- Philippines 1709 (1)
- Republic of Korea 202
- Samoa 1
- Singapore 1055
- Vanuatu 3
- Viet Nam 181
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