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AN NHS worker is feared to be the first case of human-to-human transmission of swine flu in Britain.
Graeme Pacitti is said to have been in contact with Iain Askham and his wife Dawn, who were confirmed as Britain?s first victims of the deadly virus when they returned from their honeymoon in Mexico.
Clerical worker Mr Pacitti, from Falkirk, was initially cleared but continued to show symptoms. Further tests confirmed he was suffering from Type A flu ? the strain that includes swine flu.
The 24-year-old is undergoing more tests to confirm the infection and is said to be receiving anti-viral drugs at home. The results are expected later today.
His mother Lesley Pacitti said: ?He?s been pretty much the same for the last few days. We are very unsure about what?s happening, but we hope he will be better soon.?
Mr Pacitti, who plays football on the same six-a-side team as Mr Askham, fell ill after they went for a team night out at a local pub.
A scientist tests flu samples for traces of the deadly strain
He said: ?It?s just typical flu. I have a sore throat, a sore head and an upset stomach. I have been told to stay at home and my mother, her partner and my brother are also in the house.?
Dr Harry Burns, Scotland?s chief medical officer, said: ?My understanding is he is through the worst of it. He has had Tamiflu as a contact.?
Mr Pacitti?s own contacts are now being followed up.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: ?Obviously the circumstances around this individual do give us cause for concern - the symptoms don?t give us cause for concern, but the circumstances give us cause for concern.?
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We are very unsure about what?s happening, but we hope he will be better soon
?
Graeme Pacitti's mother Lesley
But Dr Alan McNally, senior lecturer and influenza diagnostics researcher at Nottingham Trent University, said human-to-human transmission within the UK would not be a significant development.
He said: ?I don?t think it is any more significant. We know that it is transmitted from human to human, it has happened in other parts of the world and we know it will happen here.?
But he added: ?I know that there will be interest in it because members of the public will see that they don?t need to have been to Mexico to get it.?
He said the vast majority of the UK?s 230 possible cases currently being investigated are likely to have originated from contact with other infected people.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/98328/NHS-worker-first-human-transmission-of-swine-flu-
Graeme Pacitti is said to have been in contact with Iain Askham and his wife Dawn, who were confirmed as Britain?s first victims of the deadly virus when they returned from their honeymoon in Mexico.
Clerical worker Mr Pacitti, from Falkirk, was initially cleared but continued to show symptoms. Further tests confirmed he was suffering from Type A flu ? the strain that includes swine flu.
The 24-year-old is undergoing more tests to confirm the infection and is said to be receiving anti-viral drugs at home. The results are expected later today.
His mother Lesley Pacitti said: ?He?s been pretty much the same for the last few days. We are very unsure about what?s happening, but we hope he will be better soon.?
Mr Pacitti, who plays football on the same six-a-side team as Mr Askham, fell ill after they went for a team night out at a local pub.
A scientist tests flu samples for traces of the deadly strain
He said: ?It?s just typical flu. I have a sore throat, a sore head and an upset stomach. I have been told to stay at home and my mother, her partner and my brother are also in the house.?
Dr Harry Burns, Scotland?s chief medical officer, said: ?My understanding is he is through the worst of it. He has had Tamiflu as a contact.?
Mr Pacitti?s own contacts are now being followed up.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: ?Obviously the circumstances around this individual do give us cause for concern - the symptoms don?t give us cause for concern, but the circumstances give us cause for concern.?
?
We are very unsure about what?s happening, but we hope he will be better soon
?
Graeme Pacitti's mother Lesley
But Dr Alan McNally, senior lecturer and influenza diagnostics researcher at Nottingham Trent University, said human-to-human transmission within the UK would not be a significant development.
He said: ?I don?t think it is any more significant. We know that it is transmitted from human to human, it has happened in other parts of the world and we know it will happen here.?
But he added: ?I know that there will be interest in it because members of the public will see that they don?t need to have been to Mexico to get it.?
He said the vast majority of the UK?s 230 possible cases currently being investigated are likely to have originated from contact with other infected people.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/98328/NHS-worker-first-human-transmission-of-swine-flu-