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IQALUIT - Nunavut's chief medical officer says global concerns over a swine flu pandemic are "overblown."

Dr. Isaac Sobol said there is little difference between the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, and the average flu bug.

Even so, Sobol said the Department of Health and Social Services is ready. Clinics, health centres and hospitals had been briefed on what symptoms to watch for and what medical responses are most appropriate: separating the patient from other patients, doing a medical inspection in a separate room while everyone is wearing filter masks and disinfecting everything afterwards.

As of May 7, Associated Press reported the death toll wolrdwide at 44.

Sobol said the rumours floating around Iqaluit that someone had already been quarantined in Iqaluit's Qikiqtani General Hospital were not true.

"It is very dangerous for people to be spreading unsubstantiated rumours," he said.

Sobol said there are no confirmed cases in Nunavut, nor any suspected cases awaiting lab tests. People who have returned from affected countries such as Mexico recently who feel like they have a flu, should seek medical attention.

The official incubation period of the swine flu is one week, including a generous margin for error. Sobol said that means if you felt fine for a week after returning from Mexico and then got sick, your illness has nothing to do with swine flu from Mexico.

However, because the flu virus mutates so easily, Sobol said it was possible the swine flu could do the same and become more dangerous. Medical historians believe that may have been the case in the flu pandemic of 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide. The chances of such a mutation are extremely low, but it is the primary reason why Nunavut Health is treating the virus seriously.

Public health guidelines for prevention are the same as with any flu: wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze and stay home from work if you are feeling sick.

Sobol advised getting seasonal flu shots even though the shots won't prevent swine flu. If there are fewer other kinds of flu making people sick, there are fewer opportunities for the swine flu to mix with another strain and mutate into a new, possibly more dangerous form, he said.

Sobol addressed media reports from Edmonton last week that the first Canadian had died with swine flu. He pointed out the reports said the woman was elderly, with pre-existing medical conditions. Although she tested positive for swine flu, there was no evidence to suggest it was the cause of her death.

"I don't think it's cause for alarm," he said.