By Candice Bailey and Thabiso Thakali
South Africa can expect a spike in the number of reported swine flu cases in the next few months - but health authorities are not concerned about the spread.
The country currently has 13 cases of swine flu, six of which have been reported this week alone.
But National Institute for Communicable Diseases head, Lucille Blumberg, on Friday said they were not aiming to contain the H1N1 virus.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), at least 337 people have died around the world from swine flu, which has infected 80 000 people in 121 countries.
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The BBC has reported that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US used mathematical modelling based on surveys by health officials to estimate that the real number of infections in the US was at least a million.
In South Africa, Health Department spokesman Fidel Hadebe reported 13 cases.
"Twelve (of the) patients have a history of travel outside South Africa. One case did not travel but is a close household contact of a confirmed case. To date, the total number of cases reported by area include eleven in Gauteng and two in the Western Cape."
The first case was detected in a 12-year-old boy who had arrived from the US on June 14.
The second case was a 29-year-old rugby player now living in France who had come to Gauteng to visit his family.
Hadebe said both were long past their incubation periods, and were presumed to be fully recovered.
The third and fourth cases were confirmed last Friday.
One entered South Africa from London on June 24, and the other - the first confirmed case outside Gauteng - is a woman who arrived from the US on June 20.
The fifth and sixth patients were believed to be displaying mild symptoms, and the department was still gathering information on the seventh patient's condition.
This week six more cases were announced - five in Gauteng and one in the Western Cape.
None of the identities of the patients have been revealed.
Each of the patients have been managed at home in accordance with WHO and Health Department guidelines of seven days without outside contact.
People with whom they had been in contact would be consulted.
Blumberg said the best way to identify cases was when patients present themselves with symptoms. She added that the virus was very transmittable, but mild for the most part.
"We should expect lots more cases. Other countries have experienced large outbreaks. There is no concern. Most of the cases will not even receive medical attention. We are not aiming to contain it. It is very mild."
While the deaths are a concern, the percentage of fatalities compared to the total number of cases worldwide is small.
The illness, caused by the H1N1 virus, presents itself with cold- or flu-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, cough or muscle pain.
Hadebe said anybody with a travel history or who had been in contact with a confirmed swine flu patient, or who experiences flu-like symptoms within seven days of arriving in the country, should seek medical care from the nearest health facility.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on July 04, 2009
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