Swine flu on the increase (From Campaign Series)

Swine flu on the increase

12:20pm Wednesday 8th July 2009

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THREE more Caerphilly borough people have contracted swine flu, the National Public Health Service for Wales have said.

They are a 36-year-old woman from Caerphilly borough who is a household contact of a confirmed case in Caerphilly borough, a 38-year-old woman from the borough who is a household contact of a presumed case in the borough and a 53-year-old female from the borough linked with travel to Spain. That brings the total to six confirmed cases from the Caerphilly borough.

274 people have been under investigation in Wales.

Of these, swine flu has been confirmed in 50 cases, clinically presumed in 28 cases and ruled out in 185 cases, leaving 11 still under investigation. All of these are displaying, or have displayed, mild symptoms.

Clinically presumed cases are people who have been in the same house as confirmed cases of swine flu who, because of their symptoms, are presumed to have swine flu but who have not been laboratory tested.

In such cases, there is enough evidence that the patient has contracted swine flu for their doctor to treat them.

Of the 11 people under investigation, seven were well when first identified, but reported recent flu-like symptoms following travel to affected areas.

Blood tests are being undertaken on these individuals to see if they had the flu and to help the NPHS understand the pattern of the disease from the past.

Their symptoms may or may not have been due to swine flu.

Testing will be conducted in a number of weeks to check whether these people did have swine flu - scientifically it won't work before that.

Investigations have shown that people they had close contact with did not catch flu from them when they were ill.

There are now 7,642 laboratory confirmed cases in the UK - 58 cases in Wales, 1,377 cases in Scotland, 6,162 cases in England and 45 in Northern Ireland.

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