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Tests confirm flu transfer in UK Tests confirm flu transfer in UK
(about 1 hour later)
An NHS clerical worker has become the first person in the UK to contract swine flu without having visited Mexico, tests have confirmed.An NHS clerical worker has become the first person in the UK to contract swine flu without having visited Mexico, tests have confirmed.
Graeme Pacitti, 24, of Falkirk, picked up the virus after contact with the UK's first cases Iain and Dawn Askham, the Scottish government said. Graeme Pacitti, 24, of Falkirk, picked up the virus after contact with the UK's first cases, Iain and Dawn Askham.
Meanwhile, the Health Protection Agency has confirmed a person in Merseyside has become the 10th case. Meanwhile, two more cases of swine flu in the UK have been confirmed, bringing the total to 11.
A school in Bristol also says a Year 7 pupil has contracted the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are now more than 300 confirmed cases of the virus globally.
A letter from Downend School headteacher Tamryn Savage to parents says the child is at home and well.
Health officials have advised the school to close until 11 May and are asking parents to contact their family doctor if any child shows symptoms.
However, a local health trust says the case has not been confirmed as swine flu.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are now more than 300 confirmed cases of the virus, which has been reported in 14 countries.
In Mexico, 168 deaths have been linked to swine flu and the government has confirmed 12 were attributable to the virus. Another person has died in the US.
A total of 642 possible cases are being investigated in the UK.A total of 642 possible cases are being investigated in the UK.
The Askhams believe they caught the virus on a flight back from their honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico, during which other passengers were coughing and sneezing. The Health Protection Agency said the latest confirmed UK cases were a woman from the Merseyside who recently returned from Mexico, and a person in south west England.
They were treated for five nights in separate isolation rooms at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, before being allowed back to their home in Polmont, near Falkirk, on Thursday. Earlier on Friday, a school in Bristol said one of its pupils - a girl in year seven - had contracted the virus, but that the child was at home and was feeling well.
Mr Pacitti, a friend of Mr Askham who plays in the same six-a-side football team, said he had been given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu as a precaution after meeting him in a pub. But the school, in Downend, will be closed until 11 May and parents have been told to contact their family doctor if any child shows symptoms.
Mr Pacitti is confined to home but told the BBC by mobile phone he was "really disappointed" to find out he had contracted swine flu on Friday. Another school in Paignton, Devon, also closed its doors this week after it was confirmed a 12-year-old girl had contracted swine flu.
"Today I started to feel better than I have done all week. I'm quite gutted. Following confirmation that Mr Pacitti caught swine-flu in the UK, experts warned it was "inevitable" that more people will fall ill through "onward transmission", as has already happened in the US, Canada, Spain and Germany.
Scotland's chief medical officer Dr Harry Burns said: "What we will do is try and mitigate the rate of spread but it's inevitable that we're going to see more cases."
Mr Pacitti himself told the BBC he was really disappointed" to find out he had contracted the illness.
He plays in the same six-a-side football team as the UK's first swine-flu patient Iain Askham.
He said he had been given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu as a precaution after meeting him in a pub.
Now confined to home, Mr Pacitti said by telephone: "Today I started to feel better than I have done all week. I'm quite gutted.
"It started last Saturday when I started to feel like I had an upset stomach. From then my throat began to get sore."It started last Saturday when I started to feel like I had an upset stomach. From then my throat began to get sore.
"The worst was when I started to get headaches and feel quite feverish.""The worst was when I started to get headaches and feel quite feverish."
Iain and Dawn Askham tested positive after their honeymoon in Mexico Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Pacitti's infection was a "significant development" but that the risk to public health remained low.
His case represents the first of onward transmission of the virus within the UK. It has already happened in the US, Canada, Spain and Germany. CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES Mexico: 168 suspected deaths, 12 confirmedUS: one death, at least 109 confirmed casesNew Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable casesCanada: 35 confirmed casesSpain: 13 confirmed casesUK: 11 confirmed casesGermany: 4 confirmed casesIsrael, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases eachThe Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong: 1 confirmed case each class="" href="/1/hi/health/8026564.stm">How the UK is trying to contain flu class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/8021547.stm">Mapping the outbreak class="" href="/1/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm">Swine flu: Your experiences
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the person-to-person transfer was a "significant development" but that risk to public health remained low.
"It is concerning but I have to stress that it doesn't mean there's more reason for people to worry," she said."It is concerning but I have to stress that it doesn't mean there's more reason for people to worry," she said.
"We are still very much in the containment phase of this infection.""We are still very much in the containment phase of this infection."
Microbiologist Hugh Pennington told the BBC the development was "not terrible significant". Of the 11 UK cases confirmed so far, all are thought to have responded well to treatment.
"It's not altogether surprising," he said. Prime Minster Gordon Brown, who was visiting an NHS Direct centre in Beckenham, south-east London, said the UK was in a good position to cope with the illness .
"The big test is going to be [whether] this is going to happen on a grander scale. It's too early to say."
The latest Britons to return from Mexico, about 300 people on a scheduled Thomas Cook flight, arrived at Gatwick on Friday morning.
Passengers told the BBC no one's temperature was taken - which differed from the screening process in the Mexican resort of Cancun.
However, government action plans for dealing with possible pandemics make clear there would be no screening at borders because it would not pick up people without symptoms who might develop them later.
CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES Mexico: 168 suspected deaths, 12 confirmedUS: one death, at least 109 confirmed casesNew Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable casesCanada: 35 confirmed casesSpain: 13 confirmed casesUK: 10 confirmed casesGermany: 4 confirmed casesIsrael, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases eachThe Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong: 1 confirmed case each How the UK is trying to contain flu Mapping the outbreak Swine flu: Your experiences
Of the 10 UK cases confirmed so far, three are in London. There has been one each in Merseyside, Newcastle upon Tyne and Redditch, Worcestershire, and a 12-year-old girl has tested positive in Paignton, Devon.
All of those diagnosed are thought to have responded well to treatment.
The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.
Prime Minster Gordon Brown said the UK was in a good position to cope with swine flu as he visited an NHS Direct centre in Beckenham, south-east London.
Quick treatmentQuick treatment
"There will be more cases, but at the same time it is treatable," he said."There will be more cases, but at the same time it is treatable," he said.
"If we can get to people quickly, we can trace their contacts and if we can give those affected Tamiflu [anti-viral drug], then we can avoid the problems that we see in some of the other countries." "If we can get to people quickly, we can trace their contacts and if we can give those affected Tamiflu [anti-viral drug], then we can avoid the problems that we see in some of the other countries," he said.
Gordon Brown: 'It is treatable'
Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has said it is impossible to predict how many deaths there could be in the UK until more was known about the virus strain.Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has said it is impossible to predict how many deaths there could be in the UK until more was known about the virus strain.
BBC News health correspondent Jane Hughes says the spread of the virus might not take off until the autumn and the winter when people's resistance is lower.BBC News health correspondent Jane Hughes says the spread of the virus might not take off until the autumn and the winter when people's resistance is lower.
Some 29 suspected cases are being investigated in Scotland, along with 20 in Wales where another 16 possible cases have been ruled out.
Six people in Northern Ireland have also been given anti-viral drugs as a precaution, but none have tested positive.
On Thursday, health chiefs in the Irish Republic said one man had tested positive for swine flu - its first case.
SWINE FLU ADVICE Use clean tissues when you cough or sneeze Bin tissues after useWash hands with soap, hot water or gel NHS: Important Information About Swine Flu [118 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader hereSWINE FLU ADVICE Use clean tissues when you cough or sneeze Bin tissues after useWash hands with soap, hot water or gel NHS: Important Information About Swine Flu [118 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here
Precautions being taken in the UK include an expansion of anti-viral stocks from 35 million to 50 million by the end of May, the ordering of extra face masks and delivery of information leaflets for every family.Precautions being taken in the UK include an expansion of anti-viral stocks from 35 million to 50 million by the end of May, the ordering of extra face masks and delivery of information leaflets for every family.
Supplies of antibiotics are to be increased to deal with any complications arising as a result of flu infections.Supplies of antibiotics are to be increased to deal with any complications arising as a result of flu infections.
An advertising campaign to help prevent the spread of the virus has also been launched.An advertising campaign to help prevent the spread of the virus has also been launched.
The Department of Health's Catch it, Bin it, Kill it! adverts urge people to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues, throw them away and wash their hands.The Department of Health's Catch it, Bin it, Kill it! adverts urge people to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues, throw them away and wash their hands.
Members of the public can call 0800 1513513 for recorded information about swine flu. In Scotland, anyone with concerns about the virus can call 08454 24 24 24.Members of the public can call 0800 1513513 for recorded information about swine flu. In Scotland, anyone with concerns about the virus can call 08454 24 24 24.
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An advertising campaign urges people to catch the sneeze before binning the tissueAn advertising campaign urges people to catch the sneeze before binning the tissue
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