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http://hamptonroads.com/2009/06/chesapeake-woman-first-va-die-swine-flu
SCOTLAND "2 PATIENTS IN CRITICAL CONDITION"
Swine flu victims 'critical' as pandemic status looms
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Two people were admitted to intensive care in Scotland with swine flu as The World Health Organisation warned it was "getting closer" to declaring a global outbreak of the virus.
The pair are both being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and include a 45-year-old man who is not thought to have any other underlying health problems.
It came as the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that 61 more people in England were confirmed with swine flu, bringing the total number affected in the UK to 362, and as the WHO said the virus appeared to be taking hold outside of North America.
WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths.
The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the US, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.
Mr Fukuda said: "Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO's scale, signalling a pandemic - a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6."
The 61 cases confirmed yesterday in England are the largest number announced in England in one day, the HPA said.
But they are not part of a cluster, a spokesman said.
Regional laboratories have now got the capability to test for swine flu without needing to send samples to a central London lab, which has bumped up the numbers, he added.
The two patients in intensive care are in a "critical but stable" condition, the Scottish Government said.
Neither case is linked to any other previously known cluster of swine flu cases.
The 45-year-old man, from Paisley, is believed to be the first case in the UK where someone has been admitted to intensive case without any underlying health conditions.
A 38-year-old woman from Glasgow is the other case admitted to intensive care, although she did have previous health issues.
Last week a 38-year-old man, who also had other health worries, was admitted to intensive care at a hospital in Glasgow.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the development as she announced the total number of confirmed swine flu cases in Scotland had increased by 23 to 65.
Ms Sturgeon said she understood concerns the public would have on hearing the latest developments.
"That's entirely understandable," she said.
"But, in any flu scenario, small numbers of patients will develop complications and will require that kind of medical intervention.
"The fact remains that in the vast, overwhelming majority of cases, people with this virus are experiencing relatively mild symptoms, in some cases very mild."
The HPA said 282 possible further cases were under investigation.
There have now been 295 confirmed cases in England, 65 in Scotland and one each in Wales and Northern Ireland.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have so far been generally mild, and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission.
"We are continuing to work to slow the spread of the disease and to put in place arrangements to ensure that the UK is well placed to deal with this new infection.
"But we must not be complacent - it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic."
Of the 23 new cases yesterday, 18 of them are connected to a cluster in Dunoon with further travel-related cases in Lothian and Glasgow.
There were also 30 possible cases in Scotland yesterday, with six of them travel-related and 24 not connected to travel.
The bulk of the non-travel cases are connected to the cluster in Dunoon.
One new probable case is a relative of the 37-year-old man in hospital in Glasgow with the virus.
A fresh confirmed case has emerged at Dunoon Grammar School, but the pupil was off due to exams when the symptoms emerged and it will remain open in the meantime.
Third year pupils at the school have already been sent home after a pupil tested positive.
A primary five pupil in the town's Kirn primary school has also tested positive for the virus yesterday, Ms Sturgeon added.
Among the cases in Dunoon was a group of Rangers fans who travelled on a supporters' bus to see the club's league decider against Dundee United on May 24.
The Health Secretary said that some of these supporters had also attended the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday, but she added: "The risk of transmission in an environment like a football match is very low."
Ms Sturgeon said: "We are now seeing sporadic cases in the community, with clusters developing around them.
"But there's still no need for the public to be unduly worried."
She added: "I would expect over the course of the next couple of days, perhaps the next couple of weeks, the number of cases to increase significantly."
She will take part in a Cobra meeting today which will discuss possible "refinement" of the government's containment strategy.
SCOTLAND "2 PATIENTS IN CRITICAL CONDITION"
Swine flu victims 'critical' as pandemic status looms
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Two people were admitted to intensive care in Scotland with swine flu as The World Health Organisation warned it was "getting closer" to declaring a global outbreak of the virus.
The pair are both being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and include a 45-year-old man who is not thought to have any other underlying health problems.
It came as the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that 61 more people in England were confirmed with swine flu, bringing the total number affected in the UK to 362, and as the WHO said the virus appeared to be taking hold outside of North America.
WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths.
The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the US, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.
Mr Fukuda said: "Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO's scale, signalling a pandemic - a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6."
The 61 cases confirmed yesterday in England are the largest number announced in England in one day, the HPA said.
But they are not part of a cluster, a spokesman said.
Regional laboratories have now got the capability to test for swine flu without needing to send samples to a central London lab, which has bumped up the numbers, he added.
The two patients in intensive care are in a "critical but stable" condition, the Scottish Government said.
Neither case is linked to any other previously known cluster of swine flu cases.
The 45-year-old man, from Paisley, is believed to be the first case in the UK where someone has been admitted to intensive case without any underlying health conditions.
A 38-year-old woman from Glasgow is the other case admitted to intensive care, although she did have previous health issues.
Last week a 38-year-old man, who also had other health worries, was admitted to intensive care at a hospital in Glasgow.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the development as she announced the total number of confirmed swine flu cases in Scotland had increased by 23 to 65.
Ms Sturgeon said she understood concerns the public would have on hearing the latest developments.
"That's entirely understandable," she said.
"But, in any flu scenario, small numbers of patients will develop complications and will require that kind of medical intervention.
"The fact remains that in the vast, overwhelming majority of cases, people with this virus are experiencing relatively mild symptoms, in some cases very mild."
The HPA said 282 possible further cases were under investigation.
There have now been 295 confirmed cases in England, 65 in Scotland and one each in Wales and Northern Ireland.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have so far been generally mild, and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission.
"We are continuing to work to slow the spread of the disease and to put in place arrangements to ensure that the UK is well placed to deal with this new infection.
"But we must not be complacent - it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic."
Of the 23 new cases yesterday, 18 of them are connected to a cluster in Dunoon with further travel-related cases in Lothian and Glasgow.
There were also 30 possible cases in Scotland yesterday, with six of them travel-related and 24 not connected to travel.
The bulk of the non-travel cases are connected to the cluster in Dunoon.
One new probable case is a relative of the 37-year-old man in hospital in Glasgow with the virus.
A fresh confirmed case has emerged at Dunoon Grammar School, but the pupil was off due to exams when the symptoms emerged and it will remain open in the meantime.
Third year pupils at the school have already been sent home after a pupil tested positive.
A primary five pupil in the town's Kirn primary school has also tested positive for the virus yesterday, Ms Sturgeon added.
Among the cases in Dunoon was a group of Rangers fans who travelled on a supporters' bus to see the club's league decider against Dundee United on May 24.
The Health Secretary said that some of these supporters had also attended the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday, but she added: "The risk of transmission in an environment like a football match is very low."
Ms Sturgeon said: "We are now seeing sporadic cases in the community, with clusters developing around them.
"But there's still no need for the public to be unduly worried."
She added: "I would expect over the course of the next couple of days, perhaps the next couple of weeks, the number of cases to increase significantly."
She will take part in a Cobra meeting today which will discuss possible "refinement" of the government's containment strategy.
