1st death in UK reported in Scotland

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/new...e_flu_claims_first_UK_victim_as_Scot_dies.php

Swine flu claims first UK victim as Scot dies
CHRIS WATT June 14 2009

A Scot has died after contracting swine flu in the first death linked to the condition in the UK.

A Scottish Government statement said: "With regret, we can confirm that one of the patients who had been in hospital, and had been confirmed as suffering from the H1N1 virus, has died today.

"The patient had underlying health conditions.

At the family's request, to allow them some time to come to terms with their loss, no further details will be released tonight."
Earlier, the Scottish Government said that nearly 500 Scots have now been confirmed as having swine flu.

Thirty-five new cases have been confirmed in Scotland, taking the total number to 498, officials said.

Of the new cases, 32 are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, and the Highland, Forth Valley and Grampian health boards have one new case each.

A further 175 cases are under investigation, said the Scottish Government.

A total of 10 people are being treated in hospital.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "We continue to see a rise in cases of Influenza A (H1N1) around the world, and Scotland is not isolated from that.

"Given the number of cases being confirmed in the West Midlands, there is an indication that the area is experiencing a level of spread similar to what we are seeing in Scotland.

"We remain one of the best-prepared countries in the world and, as in every other country, the vast majority of people contracting the virus are experiencing relatively mild symptoms."

 

[Shiloh]

Re: 1st death in UK reported in Scotland

Source: http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/new....Scottish_mother_first_UK_swine_flu_death.php

Scottish mother first UK swine flu death
CHRIS WATT June 15 2009

Swine flu has claimed its first victim in the UK with the death of a Scottish mother - days after she gave birth to a baby prematurely.

The 38-year-old woman from Glasgow, named locally as Jacqui Fleming, is the first person to die of the virus outside the Americas.

The woman had been under intensive care at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley since last month. Officials said she had been suffering from underlying health conditions.

Her baby, who was born around 11 weeks early, was being treated at Yorkhill hospital in Glasgow but is understood to have tested clear for the virus. The death is the first in Europe from the H1N1 virus and brings the worldwide death toll to 146. Nearly 500 people in Scotland have now tested positive for swine flu.

Scotland remains one of the worst-hit nations relative to population size in the global pandemic, with more than one-third of the UK's total of 1226 confirmed infections.

Official predictions are that between 25% and 35% of the Scottish population is expected to contract the virus - the equivalent of 1.7 million people.

However, so far the vast majority of cases have only displayed mild symptoms.

Professor Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University, said underlying health problems were likely to have been a "significant factor".

He said: "It's very sad but with the number of cases we have seen it is really something which was always going to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately it is to be expected. This is what the authorities have been saying will happen for a long time.

"It does not point to the virus getting nastier. All the evidence to date suggests the virus is not changing at all. This is a flu virus, it is in no way different from an ordinary winter flu virus, so if there are enough cases some people will have to be admitted to hospital and some will die."

Neighbours in the Carnwadric area of south-west Glasgow said last night that the victim had a teenage son and a younger boy, who was still in primary school.

A resident of her block of flats, who did not wish to be named, said that the family wanted to be left alone to come to terms with the tragedy.

Another teenage neighbour, who said he had known her son from his time at a local secondary school, said the woman had previously suffered from strokes or seizures and had been critically ill in hospital for a significant period of time before her death.

News of Mrs Fleming's passing spread quickly through the close-knit community, and neighbours stood in silence at the fence outside her home.

The block of flats where she lived is yards away from St Vincent Primary School. One pupil there has already contracted the virus. The school is expected to be shut today.

A 23-year-old nurse who treated the woman at the Southern General Hospital has also tested positive for swine flu but is not thought to be seriously ill.

Earlier yesterday, officials confirmed 35 new cases in Scotland, taking the total number to 498.

Of the new cases, 32 are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, and the Highland, Forth Valley and Grampian health boards have one new case each. A further 175 cases are under investigation, said the Scottish Government.

A total of 10 people are being treated in hospital. Professor Pennington said it was very difficult to measure death rates from flu, but one death out of more than a thousand cases was "quite unremarkable" and compared favourably to ordinary seasonal flu.

He said anti virals could help make flu easier to manage but they were "not a magic bullet" and worked best if administered very early on in the infection.

"Anti virals damp down the virus but they are not curative, and once symptoms have developed they don't work nearly as well," he said.

The virus develops as pneumonia, attacking cells lining the lungs and preventing the transfer of oxygen.

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said last night: "I'd like to express my condolences to the patient's family and friends. This is a tragedy for those concerned and they have my heartfelt sympathy.

"Tragic though today's death is, I would like to emphasise that the vast majority of those who have H1N1 are suffering from relatively mild symptoms. I would reiterate that the risk to the general public remains low and we can all play our part in slowing the spread of the virus by following simple hygiene procedures."

So far only one person over 65 has been infected in Scotland, compared with 88% of the cases in the under 45s. The reason is believed to be that older people have lived through the flu pandemics of 1957 and 1968. Although these were different strains of flu, older people may have gained some resistance.

Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns predicted last week that the number of cases would peak in mid-June, but authorities now believe around one-third of Scotland's population will contract swine flu.

Health authorities have now given up trying to contain the virus in the hardest-hit area around Glasgow, Argyll, Bute and Paisley, and are preparing themselves to cope with a prolonged outbreak over a wider area.

Anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu are now only being given out to close contacts of the infected, whereas previously they were dispensed to a wide network of at-risk neighbours and colleagues.

Diagnoses will also be made in doctors' surgeries and hospitals as overstretched laboratories struggle to keep up with the backlog of suspected cases. However, concerns have been raised that frontline medical staff are being put at risk of contracting the virus from patients undergoing treatment.

Two doctors have already been confirmed as victims, and a paper from Health Protection Scotland last week reported that protective masks were not made to fit 50% of staff who used them.

Dr Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation, said last week the world must "brace" itself to expect further deaths.

 

[Thornton]

Re: 1st death in UK reported in Scotland

the death of a Scottish mother - days after she gave birth to a baby prematurely.

Very sad. My prayers are with her family.

...had been critically ill in hospital for a significant period of time before her death.

Did she acquire the H1N1 infection while she was in the hospital? I still have not seen data on deaths like this with seasonal flu.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: 1st death in UK reported in Scotland

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1193016/Baby-loses-fight-life-mother-UK-die-swine-flu.html

Baby loses fight for life after mother becomes first in UK to die from swine flu

By Ryan Kisiel and Sarah Bruce
Last updated at 8:01 PM on 15th June 2009



The baby of the woman who became the first person in Britain to die from swine flu has lost his battle for life.

Doctors were forced to deliver the baby three months prematurely on June 1 after the mother, Jacqui Fleming, 38, fell seriously ill.

The baby, named Jack, died this evening at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Scotland, although he had not contracted the virus.

Mrs Fleming's death follows a rush of new cases with 59 new patients confirmed today, taking the UK total to 1,320.

Mrs Fleming, who lived in south west Glasgow and has two other children - a teenage son and another boy - is the first fatality from swine flu outside the Americas. Doctors said she had 'underlying health problems'.

This evening Mrs Flemming's partner, William McCann, released a statement that read: 'My beautiful son was born on 1st June 2009, 11 weeks early.

'He suffered from a number of complications and despite his brave fight he passed away earlier this evening at the Special Care Baby Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

'Coming so soon after the death of his mum, this is an extremely distressing and difficult time for our family and I would ask the media to respect our privacy as we try to cope with the loss of Jacqueline and Jack.'

Her family had earlier released a statement on the 'shattering' loss of Mrs Fleming.

They said: 'We can confirm that our beloved Jacqueline Fleming passed away yesterday afternoon.

'Our whole family is absolutely devastated and we are doing everything we can to support Jacqueline's two sons and her partner.

'Jacqueline has been ill in hospital for a number of weeks but nothing can prepare you for such shattering news and to that end we would ask the media to respect the privacy of our entire family so that we can grieve in peace.'...