Although there are no confirmed cases of swine flu in Ontario, health officials in Ottawa are monitoring as many as five people who just returned from Mexico for flu-like symptoms.

The province's medical officer of health says although it's difficult to predict, it is likely only a matter of time before a case of the influenza is confirmed in this province.

"With the province being the size it is, and with the amount of travel back and forth to Mexico, I would anticipate we'll have some of those cases similar to the United States, where there is mild or moderate cases," Dr. David Williams told a news conference on Monday.

The swine flu outbreak has now reached beyond North America, reaching into Europe. So far, confirmed cases have been found in:

  • United States: 40
  • Mexico: 26
  • Canada: 8
  • Spain: 1
  • Scotland: 2

In Canada, four of the eight cases of swine flu are in Nova Scotia, two are in British Columbia and another two are in Alberta.

"We should be concerned and we should be at least satisfied that it's being taken seriously by the global public health community," said Dr. Earl Brown, a flu expert with the University of Ottawa.

"This outbreak has features that people would worry about as a precursor to a pandemic. We haven't seen a pandemic start yet, but we're not sure if we're on course for one."

Local hospitals take precautionary measures

In the meantime, local hospitals are taking precautions and working on strategies to optimize the number of beds and staff available in the event of a pandemic.

So far, hospitals have started identifying patients who are at risk of carrying swine flu by asking some simple travel questions.

"We already had an approach; the only thing we've changed, we're asking about travel history. If they (have travelled to Mexico), we're treating patients with higher precaution," said Thomas Hayes, director of emergency preparedness at the Ottawa Hospital.

What to do

Health experts say swine flu appears to spread much like colds and other respiratory viruses.

As preventive measures, people are advised to wash their hands frequently and cough or sneeze into their sleeve.

"The way you stop influenza from spreading is by washing your hands, by what we call sneeze and cough etiquette, cough or sneezing into a tissue and immediately washing your hands after that," said Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa's medical officer of health.

Ontarians who have general questions about swine flu can call the ServiceOntario INFOline at 1-800-476-9708.

If someone has flu-like symptoms and believe they may have swine flu, they should call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000.

If they feel ill, they should stay away from work and consult with their physician, Williams said.

"My advice is there's no need to panic."

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee