Swine flu cases in N.S. hold at 4

Health officials in Nova Scotia say there are no new confirmed cases of swine flu, but they are awaiting test results on three samples.

The samples are from students at King's Edgehill school in Windsor, where there are four confirmed cases of the new strain of influenza virus circulating in Canada and other countries. One of the students took part in a school trip earlier this month to Mexico, where the virus is believed to have originated.

Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief public health officer, said those cases were mild, but it is possible the situation could become worse.

"We may see widespread illness with more severe illness and even some deaths," he said Wednesday. "We have pandemic preparedness plans in place that we're currently using to judge and guide us in many of the decisions we're making in our response right now."

The samples have been sent to a lab in Winnipeg. Health officials said they're considering setting up a laboratory in Halifax that could confirm whether swab samples carry the swine flu.

The four students at Kings Edgehill confirmed to have the flu are back in class, school officials say.

Headmaster Joseph Seagram said 17 students have been released from isolation since Tuesday, and another eight were expected to be released on Wednesday. That would leave only seven in quarantine.

The students and staff now have access to Tamiflu, an antiviral drug.

"With the Tamiflu it … makes sure the spread of the virus is contained," he said. "Everyone remains healthy, and we can operate and move back and forth with real confidence."

On Wednesday, more than 20 people showed up at a special flu assessment clinic at the Hants Community Hospital in Windsor, which saw a spike in patients reporting flu-like symptoms in the last few days.

Officials said further tests will be done on 13 of the 20 people.

Across Canada, there are 16 cases of swine flu that have been confirmed. In addition to the four in Nova Scotia, there are seven in Ontario, three in British Columbia and two in Alberta.