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Two more cases of swine flu in UK Two more cases of swine flu in UK
(20 minutes later)
Two more cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the UK, taking the total to 34, the health secretary has said.Two more cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the UK, taking the total to 34, the health secretary has said.
Alan Johnson told MPs in the House of Commons that 10 of those so far diagnosed had not travelled to Mexico, from where the virus originated. Alan Johnson told MPs one of the new cases was a child at one of the five schools that have already closed.
It was reasonable to expect such cases to increase and the government had boosted its stockpile of antiviral drugs to cover 80% of Britons, he said. Ten of those diagnosed had not been to Mexico, but there was not yet evidence of "sustained" person-to-person UK transmission of the virus, he said.
A quick response system was also being developed, he added. However, it was reasonable to expect cases to increase and the situation "could rapidly escalate", he warned.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Johnson confirmed that 13 children were among the 34 cases so far confirmed and four schools had closed on the advice of local health protection officers.
A fifth school and a linked nursery had also decided to shut "on their own volition", he said, after two pupils were diagnosed with the virus even though they had not been in class while displaying symptoms.
Mr Johnson said the government had boosted its stockpile of antiviral drugs to cover 80% of Britons.
A new alternative quick-response system was also being developed in case the outbreak escalated, before a dedicated flu helpline was opened in the autumn, he added.