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While the pandemic impacts in South America have garnered much of the headlines the past few days, Australia and New Zealand are also very much embroiled in the battle against the H1N1 virus.
According to Dr. Tim Tim Blackmore, a specialist at Wellington Hospital in New Zealand, they are seeing an unusually heavy influx of influenza patients.
"What we're seeing is the tip of the iceberg and it's looking moderately severe to us," he said.
"The hospital services are starting to struggle. We've never seen admission rates like this before and unfortunately it's only going to get worse."
Up until a week or so ago, New Zealand had enjoyed more success in containing the spread of the swine flu virus than most countries, and so they are a bit behind Australia and South America in the epidemic curve.
But over the past week or so, the number of cases in the community has grown rapidly.
Tonight, New Zealand announced that they would soon make arrangements to purchase vaccine for their front line medical workers – but that vaccine may still be a couple of months away.
Health authorities have an arrangement to buy an egg-based vaccine when it's available in coming months, but are also thought likely to purchase an alternative, cell-culture vaccine in the meantime.
Health Minister Tony Ryall would not go into detail on Thursday, but said an announcement is imminent in the next few days.
Meanwhile, the hospitals in Wellington are filling up, and the flu season has yet to hit its peak.
Wellington to claim flu capital badge
Tamara McLean
July 2, 2009 - 10:44AMNew Zealand's capital Wellington is threatening to surpass Melbourne as the swine flu capital of Australasia, an infectious diseases expert says.
Dr Tim Blackmore, a specialist at Wellington Hospital, says while case numbers are higher in Australia, a snapshot in time shows New Zealand is struggling with relatively higher severe cases of H1N1 influenza.
"Melbourne is the swine flu capital of Australia but if you compare hospitalisations for the whole state of Victoria, we're ahead in our comparatively tiny city," Dr Blackmore told AAP.
Victoria, a state of five million, had 18 inpatients last Friday, the same as the Wellington region with just 400,000 residents, but the Kiwi figures have been climbing fast.
Australia's statistics are still more grim, with 4,320 cases and nine deaths reported compared to just 700 cases and no deaths in New Zealand.
But Dr Blackmore says New Zealand is at an earlier stage in the epidemic's cycle, and the situation is heating up fast.
About 30 people are now in hospital in the Wellington region, one in critical condition, and the hospital is diagnosing 15 cases a day.
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