Alberta swine flu cases reach 26

Alberta has two more confirmed cases of swine flu, both mild cases involving young people recovering in their homes, the province's chief medical officer of health said Tuesday. One is a young female adult who travelled to Mexico, while the other is a boy whose parents were in Mexico, Dr. André Corriveau said.

The new cases bring the total number in Alberta to 26. The average age for people in the province with the illness is 22, he said.

An Edmonton girl with swine flu who was taken to hospital is recovering, said Corriveau, who explained that he couldn't go into details about her health, in part due to privacy concerns.

"The prime reason [she was hospitalized] was the swine flu, but the other thing we are saying is that there may be other factors that were part of the overall picture," he said.

Alberta Health officials have refused to say whether the girl is of school age. In the Alberta legislature Tuesday, Education Minister Dave Hancock was asked by Liberal leader David Swann why students at the girl's school have not been notified about her condition.

"We've been in contact with the school board involved and also, of course, taking advice from the chief medical officer of health and following that advice appropriately," Hancock said. "The information that we're given is that this is not a circumstance where it is necessary to inform others in the school ... at this point. There is not an indication of risk."

'No need for anybody to panic'

Despite this statement, Hancock would not confirm whether the child was an elementary school student when asked about it later by CBC News.

"The bottom line is there is no need for anybody to panic in this situation,"  he said, adding public health officials have the situation well in hand. "There's a process that they follow. They understand and know when it's appropriate to alert people, when it's appropriate to take steps such as closing schools. We're not in that place."

As announced last week, Alberta health officials held their last daily press conferences Tuesday to update the public on new swine flu cases. Corriveau's last update took place in Calgary, a week after the daily briefings began.

Corriveau said Tuesday his time can be better spent and the information about new cases will instead be posted on the Alberta Health Service's website.

"I think for the average Albertan and for what we know about influenza, this one at this point in time does not seem to be particularly virulent. In fact, it looks like it is probably even milder than many of the flu seasons we have had in the past few years," he said.

Despite the fact that Alberta Health Services is calling off the press briefings, Corriveau said he still expects to see more cases of swine flu in the province. He told reporters to watch the website and didn't rule out holding a briefing in the future if the situation changes.

He urged health-care workers to remain vigilant and for epidemiologists to continue their research.

"We are monitoring what is going on, but it is still a novel virus. We are still early-on in the progress of this virus around the world, he said."