Alberta confirms 4 more cases of swine flu

Alberta has four more confirmed cases of swine flu, the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. André Corriveau, announced Thursday.

The three young males and one young female from Calgary went on a trip to Mexico together and contracted the H1N1 influenza virus that has been circulating in several countries.

"All four of them had a very mild course of illness, and they're well on their way to full recovery," Corriveau said.

The individuals have been asked to stay home for seven days after the start of their symptoms.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Alberta to six and the national total to 34. On Thursday, health officials in Nova Scotia announced four new confirmed cases of swine flu, Quebec confirmed its first case, Ontario added one new case and B.C. had five more.

Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert attended the briefing on Thursday, the first time since Corriveau started regular weekday news conferences on Tuesday.

Liepert expressed his support for the work of Corriveau and other health staff. New cases aside, nothing has changed in the government's approach to dealing with swine flu, he said.

"You know, we're talking about six Albertans out of what, three and a half million Albertans," Liepert said. "At this stage, there are no plans to do anything differently."

He echoed comments Corriveau made on Wednesday that it was premature for school boards to cancel field trips for students.

"We can't emphasize enough that, take the precautions, but let's not overreact," Liepert said.

Both Edmonton's public and Catholic school boards have cancelled field trips for students.