Ontario's has five more confirmed H1N1 flu cases, bringing the provincial total to 36 so far.

The new cases continue to be of a mild variety, Dr. David Williams, the province's acting medical officer of health, told a Tuesday news conference in Toronto.

Two of the 36 involve person-to-person transmission in Ontario. The rest all appear to link back to Mexico, where the outbreak of the virus began,

In Toronto, a city of about 2.5 million people, the number of cases has increased to 10, a rise of one in the past 24 hours. Here are how the other cases are distributed:

  • York region - 8 (+1)
  • Durham region - 6
  • Windsor-Essex - 4
  • Peel - 3 (+1)
  • Oxford - 1
  • Simcoe-Muskoka - 1
  • Sudbury and district - 1

The city of Ottawa has recorded its first H1N1 flu case, as has Halton region west of Toronto.

There are 13 males and 23 females affected. The ages of those affected range from four to 50.

As of July 1, 2008, Ontario's population was 12.9 million, according to Statistics Canada.

An average winter flu season in Ontario sees 9,000 cases and about 500 deaths.

Canada has 165 confirmed cases, a jump of 25 over Monday. The most serious remains a young girl in Alberta, who had a "severe" case. She is reportedly on the road to recovery.

In the United States, Texas reported an H1N1 flu-related death on Tuesday.

"Laboratory testing has confirmed that the H1N1 flu virus is the same as the one in Mexico and the United States," Ontario Health said in a news release.

In Toronto, a scare at a local school last week turned out to be nothing. A student at Vaughan Road Academy does not have H1N1 flu, the Toronto District School Board said.

The student had been exposed to travellers who had just returned from Mexico. The TDSB had the school thoroughly cleaned as a precaution.

What to do

The symptoms of H1N1 flu (previously known as swine flu) are similar to other seasonal flus:

  • chills and cough followed by fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches and fatigue
  • runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation
  • nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may occur in adults as well as in children

In severe cases, or in individuals with other medical problems, pneumonia can develop

"As always, in flu season, if you have signs and symptoms, you do the right thing," Williams said.

Health officials have the following advice for people to avoid spreading any flu-like virus:

  • cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it
  • wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
    Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective
  • avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way
  • try to avoid close contact with sick people
  • stay home from work or school and limit contact with others if you get sick

Williams said this particularly applies if a person has recently been to Mexico or has had contact with a confirmed case in the past seven days.

People who have recently been to Mexico but haven't shown any symptoms in the past seven days are okay to go to work, he said.

"I've been impressed with the responsibility people have taken in this regard," he said.

Those Ontarians who have general questions about H1N1 flu can call the ServiceOntario INFOline at 1-800-476-9708.

If someone has flu-like symptoms and believe they may have H1N1 flu, they should call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000.