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Five new UK flu cases confirmed Five new UK flu cases confirmed
(40 minutes later)
Five new cases of swine flu have been diagnosed in England, including four children, the government has said. Four children and one adult, all from the same school, have been diagnosed with swine flu, taking the total number of cases in the UK to 39.
These bring the total number of confirmed UK cases to 39 - 35 in England and four in Scotland. The affected school - Alleyn's in Dulwich, south-east London - has already seen six pupils diagnosed with the H1N1 virus earlier this week.
A Department of Health spokesman said all five cases were associated with a school in south-east London. All 1,200 pupils as well as staff have already been given Tamiflu antiviral drugs and the school has been closed.
It is understood to be Alleyn's School, in Dulwich, where six pupils were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus earlier this week. More than 400 people in the UK are currently being tested for the virus.
"As a precautionary measure, and to contain the spread of the virus, the school is closed, and all children and staff are on antivirals," the Department of Health spokesman added. In a statement, the Health Protection Agency said of the latest cases: "All patients are recovering at home.
Currently, 426 people in the UK are being tested for the virus, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). "Close contacts of these cases are receiving antivirals as a precautionary measure."
The Department of Health added that so far, all infections in the UK have been mild, and cases have been diagnosed and treated early.
England's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has defended the policy of closing schools after criticism that the government was overreacting to an infection that appeared to be less dangerous than originally feared.
"We don't want to take any risks with children at this stage when we don't know enough about the disease," he said on Thursday.
Earlier it emerged that British researchers have unravelled the first genetic code of swine flu from European samples.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson described the work as a "significant step".