Surprise: Swine Flu never went away

Teen is swine flu's first victim in London as ministers warn 40 a day could die by end of summer

By David Derbyshire
04th July 2009
Daily Mail Online

A teenager became the fourth Briton to die from swine flu, doctors said yesterday.

The 19-year-old from London tested positive for the virus after he died on Wednesday.

Like the UK's other three swine flu victims, he was suffering from 'underlying health problems'.
The death came as the Chief Medical Officer warned against buying potentially dangerous counterfeit flu drugs over the internet.

Health experts say some of the medications on sale are useless - while others are danergous - laced with rat poison and other toxic chemicals.

Yesterday there were more than 7,400 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK. If the number of cases continues to grow at the current pace, the UK could have 100,000 new cases every day by the end of August.

So far, most swine flu patients have suffered only mild symptoms. However, they are still be urged to stay away from GP surgeries or hospitals if they suspect they have the flu.

The latest victim lived in South London. His details were yesterday being withheld on the request of his family.

It was reported that the teenager had learning difficulties and was very ill with a rare longterm condition which left him with serious chest infections.

Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for NHS London, said the capital has seen a spike in flu cases in the past week. It is now the second-worst affected area after the West Midlands with more than 1,900 cases.

[...]

'Now we're entering the most dangerous phase'

Under the Government's pandemic action plan, there are three levels of alert for a serious flu outbreak. Earlier this week the Health Secretary announced the UK would now enter the third, most serious, phase.

The first stage is Containment, which Britain entered when the first cases, a honeymoon couple, were confirmed in Scotland on April 27.

The priority is to stop the disease spreading as much as possible. Everyone with suspected swine flu has their diagnosis confirmed by a lab report, and is given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. All recent contacts of infected people are traced and also given Tamiflu. Schools are closed if teachers or pupils contract the disease.

The second stage is Outbreak Management, which the country entered on June 25.

Action against swine flu was stepped up in three 'hot spot' areas - London, Glasgow and the West Midlands - where it was no longer possible to contain its spread.

In the hot spots, suspected cases were no longer sent for lab testing, with GPs doing the diagnosis, and people with swine flu got Tamiflu, but contacts did not as a matter of course. Schools in the hotspots were no longer automatically closed.

The third stage, which the whole country has now entered, is called Treatment.








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