Health workers were on Tuesday warned against over-prescribing a medication used to treat swine flu, called Tamiflu, as it could lead to drug-resistance. There were already four countries, identified by the World Health Organisation, in which some strains of swine flu were resistant to Tamiflu, Dr Chuma Makunga, from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, said at a Pharmacy Conference at Sun City on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the institute.

"It is not to be given to everyone. It is up to individual clinicians to read the information that is sent to them and to ensure they know what they were doing." South Africa's first fatality from the A(H1N1) virus, in the Western Cape, was reported on Monday.

The government was no longer trying to contain the virus but working to ensure its pandemic protocols were in place, Makunga said. What we are doing is collecting information about the virus so that we know as much as we can about the way it works."

The health department said given the confirmed number of deaths and cases worldwide, the virus would cause seven deaths per 1000 infected people. As of July 30, the pandemic had spread to 159 countries and territories around the world, with a cumulative number of 146,609 confirmed cases and 1096 confirmed deaths.

"The number of globally reported cases underestimates the real number of cases, given that countries are no longer required to test and report individual mild cases," spokesman Fidel Hadebe said in a statement. Pregnant women, diabetics and people with lung problems were a risk group for complications due to swine flu.

The illness seemed to affect mostly young people, as well as people up to the age of 49, while the elderly appeared to be showing some immunity. People should seek medical attention should they develop any signs such as weakness, severe drowsiness, difficulty breathing, inability to drink fluids and dehydration.   Signs of the virus include fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose and sometimes vomiting and

diarrhoea. SAPA