Mr Crerar would not say how many deaths were being investigated in connection with swine flu, or give any other details, as he had "no family consent" to do so.
"We can't be certain of anything until I receive something in writing from pathologists and microbiologists.
"Some deaths may not be caused by swine flu, but could have swine flu as a contributor."
One Otago family told the Otago Daily Times swine flu had been confirmed in a family member who died last week.
The family, who did not want to be identified, said tests were still being done before the cause of death could be finalised, but the coroner had told them swine flu had "shut down" the person's immune system before pneumonia developed.
The person had been healthy previously, they said.
The family urged people who were sick with the flu and "practically bedridden" to go to the doctor, and return to be checked again if they were not getting better.
Mr Crerar said when he received confirmation of swine flu he was "in touch" with Public Health South and it was notified when the inquest was finalised.
Otago and Southland District Health Boards' incident controller Leanne Samuel said there had been no swine flu-related deaths of hospital patients in Otago and Southland.
