Rangers fans in swine flu alert

Published on Monday 1 June 2009 13:04

ELEVEN Rangers fans who travelled on the same bus to see their team win the league have fallen ill with suspected swine flu, it was revealed today.

The supporters left from Dunoon for the league decider against Dundee United on May 24.

Eleven out of the 26 fans on board are considered "highly probable" cases of influenza A (H1N1).

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said a cluster of cases in the Argyll town had also led to the closure of a local branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The bank decided to close after one employee – who had also been on the supporters bus – became ill.

Ms Sturgeon said there are currently 19 confirmed cases, 26 probable and 23 possible cases of swine flu in Scotland.

She added: "We fully expect to see quite a sizeable increase in the number of confirmed cases over the course of the week, perhaps today, certainly tomorrow."

Of the new cases under investigation, she said: "We would consider them to be highly probable cases, therefore it would be our expectation that most, perhaps all of the cases would become confirmed cases over the course of the next couple of days."

Ms Sturgeon said the virus appeared to be concentrated in clusters at Dunoon and Glasgow.

Two brothers, aged 24 and 26, from Dunoon, were identified as probable cases on Saturday. Both had been on the supporters' bus.

More probable cases were identified in the town yesterday, including a 13-year-old pupil from Dunoon Grammar School. About 180 third-year pupils and nine teachers were kept away from the school as a precaution today.

Speaking at a briefing in Edinburgh, she added: "As of this morning in Dunoon there are a total of 18 probable cases under investigation, they are included in the 26 I spoke about earlier on. We consider all of these cases to be highly probable.

"Of the 18, 11 of them were on the football bus, six are family or household contacts and one is work-place related."

Ms Sturgeon added: "We are probably now at the stage when the containment strategy is not going to stop the spread, but it can still be successful in slowing down the spread of the virus."

She said the RBS branch in Dunoon took the decision itself to close and could not confirm how long it would remain shut.

A new Flu Response Control Centre was also announced today to help co-ordinate attempts to tackle the virus.

The centre brings together NHS boards, NHS 24 and Health Protection Scotland at Cardonald near Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon said: "If you look at Dunoon just now, the public health teams there are under significant pressure. They're coping, they're doing well, but we want to be in a position to support them where and when we need to."