No cause for alarm over latest swine flu alert, says Sturgeon
Minister praises understanding parents after school and nursery closed
By Scott Macnab and Hilary Duncanson
Published: 14/05/2009
PRECAUTIONS: Ladybird nursery pupil Joshua McDonald and his grandmother Alice Curran with their Tamiflu yesterday
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Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon insisted yesterday there was no cause for alarm after the closure of a primary school and nursery in Greenock because of suspected swine flu.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old girl in Greenock became the latest probable case in Scotland.
Two children — a boy aged five and a three-year-old — were found to be probable cases on Tuesday, and health officials have closed Ravenscraig Primary School and Ladybird nursery for a week.
But Ms Sturgeon said yesterday: “There remains no reason for people to be alarmed. We’re still dealing with small numbers of cases and focus remains very much on containment.”
She praised the “understanding” attitude of parents towards the closure.
“All of the experience to date says that the symptoms of this virus are mild — mild, of course, in the context of flu,” she said. “So people will be feeling ill, but they’re not symptoms that are causing any concern.”
The circumstances surrounding the case of the 16-year-old girl were being investigated, the minister said.
“At this stage we have no obvious connection between this individual and the confirmed case in Greenock and any of the other probable cases in Greenock.”
If no link emerges between the girl and other cases it could be the first evidence of “community transmission”, said Ms Sturgeon.
She said it may be today before results come through on the probable Scottish cases.
The total number of confirmed cases in Scotland remains at five. There are 14 possible cases — seven of them travel-related.
The breakdown of possible cases by health boards is two in the Highlands, two in Fife, six in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, three in the Lothians and one in Ayrshire and Arran.
The Greenock school was the first closure in Scotland prompted by the flu alert. The nursery closed yesterday morning.
The five-year-old boy’s mother, 45, has also been classed as a probable case.
And, with the three-year-old child, they are linked to a 19-year-old victim in Greenock who was confirmed with the virus at the weekend.
Four other contacts of the boy’s mother are showing symptoms and are being classed as possible cases.
The boy also attended an after-school club where Ms Sturgeon said 17 children were being treated with Tamiflu.
They are being asked not to return to the after-school club or to their schools for seven days.
Older children and staff in the Ladybird nursery who have had close contact with the three-year-old child will be offered Tamiflu.
Three more people were diagnosed with swine flu yesterday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the UK to 71, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said.
The latest people confirmed with the virus are a child from the east of England and a child and an adult from London.
The HPA said all three were linked to people who had already been confirmed with the virus.
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Girl, 16, may be new victim of swine flu (Scotland)
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