Hawai'i remained swine flu-free yesterday, but some patients on O'ahu with the common flu could not get their prescriptions filled for flu medications known as Tamiflu and Relenza.

A "handful" of suspect patients in Hawai'i have been cleared for swine flu, including one who had traveled to Mexico, state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said at a Capitol press conference yesterday.

No new suspect cases of flu had been reported in the 24 hours before yesterday's press conference, she said.

As swine flu cases continue to rise on the Mainland, some flu patients such as Nikolas Michaud of Kailua have been tested for swine flu — and been cleared.

Michaud, 19, came down with symptoms of fever, body ache, chills, cough, congestion and headache four days ago. But yesterday he still could not get his doctor's prescription filled for Tamiflu.

"I called my doctor, I called Longs Drugs and I called Walgreens," Michaud said. "I asked at Longs at Kailua and they told me none of the Longs has it."

At yesterday's Capitol press conference, state health officials acknowledged shortages of antiviral flu medication.

"There has been an over-abundance of demand," Park said. "It may be just slow to get here, but it will get here. So don't panic. Prepare."

Afterward, Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said the cause of the shortage may be the normal seasonal flu that actually runs year-round in the Islands.

No vaccine has yet been developed against swine flu, and Tamiflu and Relenza are only used for treatment — not prevention.

Health officials have stockpiled 172,000 courses of antiviral treatment in an undisclosed location on O'ahu, Okubo said. Another 186,000 courses have been pledged to Hawai'i from the Strategic National Stockpile.

But the 358,000 courses can only be released under strict federal guidelines, which most likely would include a swine flu pandemic and a confirmed case of swine flu in the Islands, Okubo said.

"That stockpile doesn't supply pharmacies," Okubo said. "We cannot use it for seasonal flu unless we get approval from the federal government."

Representatives for Walgreens Drug Store and Longs acknowledged shortages of antiviral flu medication on O'ahu, but declined to identify which stores have — and do not have — supplies.

"Each store varies by location," said Walgreens spokesman Nathan Hokama. More supplies should arrive in O'ahu Walgreens stores "in the next day or so."

Pharmacy employees at the Kane'ohe and Kailua Longs stores where Michaud unsuccessfully tried to get his prescription filled acknowledged shortages at their locations yesterday. They declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The corporate spokesman for Longs parent company, CVS Pharmacy, declined to identify which stores may still have supplies on O'ahu.

"Some Longs Drugs stores in Hawai'i may be experiencing temporary outages and others still have supply in stock," spokesman Mike DeAngelis said in an e-mail. "We are working with our wholesaler partners to deliver new supplies of Tamiflu as quickly as possible, most likely early next week."

Representatives for two of O'ahu's major hospital systems — The Queen's Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente — did not respond to requests yesterday to describe their supplies of Tamiflu and Relenza.

Longs Drugs' DeAngelis said sales of hand sanitizer, antibacterial soap and protective masks and gloves remain "brisk" in Hawai'i.

"We are working with our product suppliers to help meet the increased demand for these items," DeAngelis said in his e-mail.

The state Health Department continues to be swamped with calls from concerned residents over the swine flu scare, said state health director Dr. Chiyome Fukino.

"A lot of anxiety has been generated in the community," she said. "... We are not trying to work everybody into a frenzy and overly react to the information we are sharing. ... We are not saying that you should keep your children at home now when there is no illness or infection in the community. We are not saying that you should stay home from work."

There are no direct commercial flights from Mexico to Hawai'i, although several outbound Mexican flights do eventually arrive in the Islands, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tammy Mori said.

But several cruise ships with Mexican crews and passengers regularly make stops on all major islands.

"We just want to reiterate to the public that we have the programs and protocols in place to address any issue that might arise from a situation on any aircraft or cruise line that might be coming into the state," said Brennon Morioka, director of the state Department of Transportation. "We have been prepared for a while now."