Swine flu outbreak

Canterbury intensive care patients are being transferred to Dunedin as swine flu overwhelms Christchurch Hospital.

Concern about swine flu may have increased interest in University of Otago research which is looking at the impact of improved hand hygiene on winter school absences.

The swine flu epidemic has affected the amount of surgery at Dunedin Hospital recently, the Otago District Health Board hospital advisory committee has been told.

The number of people checking in with their GP in relation to flu symptoms may be levelling off, the Ministry of Health says after recent monitoring.

The spectre of swine flu has swept into Otago University.

A surge in the number of students with suspected cases of swine flu has resulted in Student Health urging students to stay in bed, keep warm, and phone a nurse if they show symptoms.

A child is the latest victim of swine flu as New Zealand's death toll has climbed to 11.

The number of people turning up at Dunedin Hospital's emergency department with flu-like symptoms does not appear to be out of the ordinary, despite the recent influx of students returning from holidays.

Intensive care units in the nation's hospitals are filling up, a senior health official says.

Dunedin and Invercargill Hospitals are prepared to take in patients from the swine flu swamped Christchurch Hospital, but no patients have yet been transferred.

Parents who defy new regulations providing for children exposed to swine flu to be excluded from school are liable to fines of up to $500.