Canada's flu vaccines outnumber population

OTTAWA, May 1 (UPI) -- Canadian health officials say they have nearly 22 million more H1N1 flu vaccines than the country has people, as confirmed cases grew to 34.

Nationally, 15 new cases of what was first called swine flu were reported Thursday for a total of 34, but various health officials said they suspect the number is much higher, the Globe and Mail reported.

The World Health Organization renamed the flu suspected to have originated in Mexico to its technical scientific name, H1N1 influenza A.

Meanwhile, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, told reporters in Ottawa the country has 55 million doses of the Tamiflu and Relenza stored at depots across the country in the event of a pandemic. The country has almost 33.5 million residents, Statistics Canada figures indicate.

All of the Canadian cases are considered mild, and none required hospitalization, officials said. Almost all involve people who traveled to Mexico recently, although in Nova Scotia only one of the four students with H1N1 at one school had traveled there, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Robert Strong, Nova Scotia's chief public health officer, said it appeared Canadians were now passing along secondary infections among one another, the report said.