FrenchieGirl
Senior Moderator
[Cross-posted on purpose]
No explanation for swine flu to have hit Scotland so badly
No evidence to explain why Scotland being hit harder by swine flu than rest of UK.
04 June 2009 11:26 AM
Health experts said there is no evidence to explain why Scotland is being hit harder by swine flu than the rest of the UK.
Four people with the virus remain in intensive care in the Glasgow area and 84 other people have been confirmed with swine flu.
The count is significantly higher per head of population than the rest of the country but bacteriology expert Hugh Pennington said the clustering of cases mirrored that seen in other countries such as the US.
Professor Pennington, from Aberdeen University, said: "I don't think there are any particular reasons that we can say why Scotland is in the frame.
"In the States the spread is uneven, there are places such as Wisconsin where you wouldn't expect it to be so prevalent as it is - it being further from the Mexican border.
"It is just the way you expect a virus to behave - it's not evenly distributed and it's more common in some parts of the country than others."
Three people - two woman aged 23 and 38 and a 45-year-old man - are in intensive care at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and a 37-year-old man is also in a critical but stable condition in Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary.
Three of these four patients have an underlying health condition.
Professor Pennington added that lifestyle factors can be considered when assessing the impact of swine flu in Scotland, saying: "In Mexico one of the factors mentioned was that there are a lot of heavy smokers there," Prof Pennington said.
"It may be a factor but it's too early to say.
"One has to have more information before we can make any conclusions."
A total of 404 people in the UK have the H1N1 virus - 313 are in England, 88 in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.
Last updated: 04 June 2009, 12:04
No explanation for swine flu to have hit Scotland so badly
No evidence to explain why Scotland being hit harder by swine flu than rest of UK.
04 June 2009 11:26 AM
Health experts said there is no evidence to explain why Scotland is being hit harder by swine flu than the rest of the UK.
Four people with the virus remain in intensive care in the Glasgow area and 84 other people have been confirmed with swine flu.
The count is significantly higher per head of population than the rest of the country but bacteriology expert Hugh Pennington said the clustering of cases mirrored that seen in other countries such as the US.
Professor Pennington, from Aberdeen University, said: "I don't think there are any particular reasons that we can say why Scotland is in the frame.
"In the States the spread is uneven, there are places such as Wisconsin where you wouldn't expect it to be so prevalent as it is - it being further from the Mexican border.
"It is just the way you expect a virus to behave - it's not evenly distributed and it's more common in some parts of the country than others."
Three people - two woman aged 23 and 38 and a 45-year-old man - are in intensive care at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and a 37-year-old man is also in a critical but stable condition in Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary.
Three of these four patients have an underlying health condition.
Professor Pennington added that lifestyle factors can be considered when assessing the impact of swine flu in Scotland, saying: "In Mexico one of the factors mentioned was that there are a lot of heavy smokers there," Prof Pennington said.
"It may be a factor but it's too early to say.
"One has to have more information before we can make any conclusions."
A total of 404 people in the UK have the H1N1 virus - 313 are in England, 88 in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.
Last updated: 04 June 2009, 12:04
