Ontario's chief medical officer of health confirmed three more mild cases of swine flu in the Toronto-area Wednesday, adding he expects more cases to be confirmed in the coming days.
"I'm not surprised with three. I'm going to expect some more as the days go on," Dr. David Williams told reporters on Wednesday.
"I think the numbers will probably go up before they go down because we're dealing with that window until the amount of movement back and forth to Mexico decreases and the situation in Mexico, all the steps they've taken, has started to limit the exposure content there."
The World Health Organization raised its alert level to Phase 5 Wednesday, meaning the probability of a pandemic is "high to certain," as swine flu spreads across the globe.
There are now 19 confirmed cases nationwide. Of the seven confirmed cases in Ontario, all are in the Toronto-area.
Public health officials say the three new cases in Ontario affect women in their early 20s who have mild versions of the flu. The women are from the York, Durham and Peel regions outside the City of Toronto.
At least six of the patients had visited Mexico recently, but health officials say they were unsure about the seventh case.
Across the province, experts say it is impossible to track the number of potential cases of swine flu because the numbers can change by the hour.
In Ottawa, the city's chief medical officer of health told reporters there are still five people being monitored for swine flu symptoms in the capital.
So far, Dr. Isra Levy says the reaction to the threat of swine flu has gone according to plan with an increase in communication between hospitals, clinics and school boards in the area.
Still, he warns the numbers of suspected cases in the capital region could change in the coming days.
