Fourteen people confirmed as having swine flu have died in New Zealand, the chief coroner said today.
A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said the official death rate from swine flu was 11.
But the office of chief coroner Neil MacLean said he was investigating the deaths of a further three people who had the virus.
A 30-year-old woman died in hospital on July 19, and a 28-year-old man died in the community on July 13. The third death was a 39-year-old man. All were from Auckland.
All 14 people had other health problems, a spokeswoman from Mr MacLean's office said.
There are now 2525 confirmed swine flu cases in New Zealand, up from 2477 yesterday.
Seventy-one people with swine flu are currently in hospital, with 24 of those in intensive care.
However, the Ministry of Health said the actual number of cases would be significantly higher, as only a small proportion of people with symptoms were being tested.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Jacobs said today the pandemic was still likely to be in its early days and continued vigilance was important. "There is no reason for either panic or complacency."
GPs and hospital were feeling the pressure, but health services had been coping well, he said.
Health officials had learnt more and more about the virus since the first reported New Zealand cases in April, but still did not know how infectious it was or how many people were getting a mild form of the illness, Dr Jacobs said.
"Around the world, the pandemic is still of moderate severity. However, the threat from this new virus is real and something we are likely to have to face for some time yet."
Many New Zealanders would have caught it by the end of the pandemic with more infections than seasonal flu because people had little or no immunity to it, he said.
The virus was mild to moderate for most, but severe for some.
"What we know is that most of the severe cases occur in people with significant underlying health conditions.
"Pregnant women also appear to be at higher risk for complications."
