Swine flu arrives in the UK
Swine flu has killed almost 150 people in Mexico (Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License)
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Monday, 27, Apr 2009 10:37
The first cases of swine flu, the disease that has killed more almost 150 people in Mexico, have been confirmed in the UK.
The Scottish executive said tests on two people who had recently returned from the affected areas had come back positive.
Deputy first minster and health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the two individuals were "recovering well" in Monklands hospital, Lanarkshire.
Health experts had earlier warned that it was only a matter of time before cases of swine flu were declared in Britain.
More than 1,600 cases have been reported in Mexico, where 149 people have died, but only 20 are explicitly due to the H1N1 strain in question.
Spain had earlier become the first European country to confirm the presence of the virus under laboratory conditions.
Addressing the Commons this afternoon, health secretary Alan Johnson said 25 people had been put under investigation in the UK.
Eight were told they did not have the virus, three more require more specialised test and are in isolation in hospital, while 14 warrant further investigation.
"It's too early to say if cases in Mexico and the US will lead to a pandemic," Mr Johnson said.
"It's important to note that apart from those in Mexico all those affected with the virus have experienced mild symptoms and made a full recovery."
He continued: "There is understandable trepidation and concern across the world.
"The UK has been preparing for such an occurrence for a number of years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the UK and France are the two best prepared countries in the world."
Britain has enough antiviral drugs for 33 million people - roughly half the population.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not yet advising against travel to affected areas, but the European Union is warning Britons to postpone non-essential travel.
"They should avoid travelling to Mexico or the United States of America unless it is very urgent for them," said EU health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.
In the States 40 cases have been confirmed, while cases have been reported in Canada and Spain and tests being carried out in Israel and New Zealand.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) told inthenews.co.uk it "expected to see" confirmed cases in Britain.
"Anyone who has recently traveled to the affected areas and is experiencing influenza like illness should stay at home to limit contact with others, and seek medical advice from a local health professional or by contacting NHS Direct," a spokesperson added.
In Mexico the capital has been reduced to a ghost town as people stay indoors following government warnings.
The World Bank has granted Mexico an emergency facility of £140 million to fight the outbreak, while the WHO has denoted the flu strain as a "public health emergency of international concern".