As swine flu total hits 1,380 lab test results are brought back in

Published on Wednesday 17 June 2009 22:07

THE number of people in Scotland recorded as having swine flu has risen above 1,300.

The Scottish Government revealed 22 new cases had been confirmed by lab tests, taking the total to 530.

On top of this, 300 new cases have been diagnosed by doctors in Glasgow on the basis of symptoms alone, taking the number identified in this way to 850.

Meanwhile, officials last night confirmed that a woman with swine flu who died after giving birth prematurely died from the H1N1 virus. Jacqui Fleming, 38, of Glasgow, died in hospital in Paisley on Sunday, two weeks after giving birth. Her baby Jack died on Monday from complications, but not from swine flu.

Last night, a statement from the Crown Office, said: "With the agreement of her family, we are able to confirm that the cause of death has been certified as multi-organ failure due to influenzal pneumonia (H1N1)."

Owing to the large leap in cases since "clinical diagnosis" was introduced, officials will return to using lab testing to confirm all new patients. Scotland now has 1,380 recorded cases of swine flu.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon insisted that, despite the increasing number of cases, the risk to people in Scotland remained low. The vast majority of cases in Scotland have occurred on the west coast. Yesterday, 21 of the 22 new lab-confirmed cases were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

There are also two probable cases being investigated in Lothian, with a further 441 possible cases being looked at across the country. Six patients with the H1N1 virus are still in hospital.

Ms Sturgeon said: "While the number of H1N1 cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde continues to rise, it is encouraging that the number of cases in other areas continues to reduce.

"It is important that we have accurate figures to give us a true picture of how the virus is spreading. That is why we have resumed laboratory testing for all cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

"Clinical diagnosis has not proven to be as effective as originally thought. Further assessment is being carried out to assess the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis process."

Public health minister Shona Robison yesterday told an NHS conference in Glasgow:

"The importance of public health has been brought into sharp focus by the recent outbreak of the H1N1 strain of flu and I would like to thank NHS staff in Scotland for their effective and swift response."

A further 110 patients were identified with swine flu in England yesterday, taking the UK total of lab confirmed cases to more than 1,500.

As the swine flu pandemic continues to cause concern across the world, a Scottish company yesterday revealed it had started work to help create a vaccine. More infections are expected in autumn and winter.

Vitrology, a Glasgow-based biotechnology company, said it was engaged in the global production schedules of H1N1 vaccine manufacturers. It performs a range of tests to ensure the vaccine is safe for use in humans.