Swine flu 'spreading rapidly' in Gaeltacht after college outbreak
By Anita Guidera and Allison Bray
Saturday August 15 2009
Irish Independent online
AN outbreak of swine flu in the Donegal Gaeltacht has taken hold in the wider community , with dozens of local people presenting with symptoms.
A doctor has warned that the virus is now rapidly spreading through west Donegal.
Students from a third college left for home yesterday after six positive cases of the infection were confirmed.
The Gael Linn college in Magheraroarty closed 12 days early following a direction from the HSE after the results were confirmed on Thursday.
This followed the closure of Colaiste Bhride in Ranafast the previous day and Colaiste Mhuire in Loughanure last Friday.
Students from the Loughanure college are due to return to west Donegal later today to complete their course.
Dr Anthony Delap confirmed yesterday that the infection had spread into the wider community, with dozens of people showing up with symptoms.
"We have had a peak with students but it is now spreading in the local community which was inevitable. What we are seeing now are cases from family members of host families and friends, mostly people who were in direct contact with the students," he said. He said that while one person seen by his practice had to be hospitalised, the majority were young people who had mild symptoms.
"Because of the extensive publicity, people have been very careful about staying away from the at-risk groups but because it is now in the community we are going to have a different cross section of people infected," he said.
He expressed concern that the infection would hit those most vulnerable in the at-risk group before a vaccine was made available.
"It is crucially important that people who have the symptoms isolate themselves and take all the general precautions with regard to personal hygiene, hand washing and the correct disposal of used tissues, and avoid coming in contact with people as much as possible," he said.
Almost 300 Irish language students who were sent home a week ago because of an outbreak of swine flu in the Donegal Gaeltacht are due to return later today to resume their course.
But Dr Delap stressed that there are very strict conditions attached to their return.
"The HSE has a plan in place and they have been informed of the conditions that had been laid down. These include that they must be seven days without symptoms and the house they are returning to must be clean," he said.
The students, all from Northern Ireland, were sent home last Saturday after 11 teens tested positive for the virus and over 100 students showed symptoms. The course, which had been due to end next Thursday, will run until Saturday, August 22.
Confirmed
The remaining 273 students at Colaiste Bhride in Ranafast left on Wednesday -- three days before their course was due to end -- after a small number of cases were confirmed.
Fourteen students at the college had previously been sent home after the infection developed at the house in which they were staying and a further nine students were removed by their parents.
Meanwhile, three cases of swine flu have been confirmed among young Italian students attending a summer language course in Galway.
The course is run by MLI, an English language company at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. The students have been quarantined at their accommodation.
Meanwhile, drugmaker Glaxo SmithKline said yesterday it has started testing its swine flu vaccine on humans.
Glaxo said it plans to conduct 16 clinical trials of the vaccine with more than 9,000 people in Europe and North America. It expects to have early results in September from its first trial in Germany. The data will be shared with drug regulators so they can make an early licensing decision.
By Anita Guidera and Allison Bray
Saturday August 15 2009
Irish Independent online
AN outbreak of swine flu in the Donegal Gaeltacht has taken hold in the wider community , with dozens of local people presenting with symptoms.
A doctor has warned that the virus is now rapidly spreading through west Donegal.
Students from a third college left for home yesterday after six positive cases of the infection were confirmed.
The Gael Linn college in Magheraroarty closed 12 days early following a direction from the HSE after the results were confirmed on Thursday.
This followed the closure of Colaiste Bhride in Ranafast the previous day and Colaiste Mhuire in Loughanure last Friday.
Students from the Loughanure college are due to return to west Donegal later today to complete their course.
Dr Anthony Delap confirmed yesterday that the infection had spread into the wider community, with dozens of people showing up with symptoms.
"We have had a peak with students but it is now spreading in the local community which was inevitable. What we are seeing now are cases from family members of host families and friends, mostly people who were in direct contact with the students," he said. He said that while one person seen by his practice had to be hospitalised, the majority were young people who had mild symptoms.
"Because of the extensive publicity, people have been very careful about staying away from the at-risk groups but because it is now in the community we are going to have a different cross section of people infected," he said.
He expressed concern that the infection would hit those most vulnerable in the at-risk group before a vaccine was made available.
"It is crucially important that people who have the symptoms isolate themselves and take all the general precautions with regard to personal hygiene, hand washing and the correct disposal of used tissues, and avoid coming in contact with people as much as possible," he said.
Almost 300 Irish language students who were sent home a week ago because of an outbreak of swine flu in the Donegal Gaeltacht are due to return later today to resume their course.
But Dr Delap stressed that there are very strict conditions attached to their return.
"The HSE has a plan in place and they have been informed of the conditions that had been laid down. These include that they must be seven days without symptoms and the house they are returning to must be clean," he said.
The students, all from Northern Ireland, were sent home last Saturday after 11 teens tested positive for the virus and over 100 students showed symptoms. The course, which had been due to end next Thursday, will run until Saturday, August 22.
Confirmed
The remaining 273 students at Colaiste Bhride in Ranafast left on Wednesday -- three days before their course was due to end -- after a small number of cases were confirmed.
Fourteen students at the college had previously been sent home after the infection developed at the house in which they were staying and a further nine students were removed by their parents.
Meanwhile, three cases of swine flu have been confirmed among young Italian students attending a summer language course in Galway.
The course is run by MLI, an English language company at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. The students have been quarantined at their accommodation.
Meanwhile, drugmaker Glaxo SmithKline said yesterday it has started testing its swine flu vaccine on humans.
Glaxo said it plans to conduct 16 clinical trials of the vaccine with more than 9,000 people in Europe and North America. It expects to have early results in September from its first trial in Germany. The data will be shared with drug regulators so they can make an early licensing decision.