Re: Swine flu confirmed case: London could become a 'breeding ground'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/s...se-London-could-become-a-breeding-ground.html
Swine flu confirmed case: London could become a 'breeding ground'
So far only one swine flu case has been confirmed in London, but health experts fear that the city could become a "breeding ground" for the virus.
By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 9:55AM BST 30 Apr 2009
Few details have been released about the 22-year-old man who has tested positive for the infection, but he is known to live in north west London.
Like the other victims he recently returned from a trip to Mexico, and contacted doctors after coming down with mild symptoms of the disease, which include respiratory problems, fever and fatigue.
At least five other Londoners were in quarantine at home awaiting test results after falling ill on their return from affected countries. They include Nicholas and Heather Williams from Harrow, who are being brought food by friends and family while they wait for confirmation of their condition.
"We came back on Monday 20 April. By the Wednesday I became ill and stayed in bed for three days," Mr Williams said. "These were the worst flu symptoms I have ever had."
London could be particularly badly hit if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, because its packed transport network is the ideal environment for the virus to be transmitted. Professor Nigel Dimmock, a virology expert at Warwick University, said: "Swine flu can be passed on by just talking to someone else ? you don't have even be in that proximity to someone.
"And in somewhere like London where you have millions of people all crushed together on the Tube every day, it would become a breeding ground for it."
He added: "It's possible the number of cases could multiply tenfold in a very short space of time ? as short as a week."
