Scotland's swine flu case count up by 361 in day after diagnostic changes

Published on Tuesday 16 June 2009 22:45

THE number of swine flu cases in Scotland leapt dramatically yesterday, with 930 patients now diagnosed with the virus.

The Scottish Government revealed cases had jumped by 361 in the space of a day.

The increase follows changes to the way in which health officials in Glasgow are diagnosing the infection.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the rising number of cases was to be expected.

It came after the first UK death of a patient with swine flu was confirmed at the weekend.

Jacqueline Fleming, 38, from Glasgow, was suffering from other health problems when she died in hospital on Sunday. Then on Monday her baby, Jack, who was born prematurely, also died. He did not have the H1N1 virus.

Yesterday, the Scottish Government revealed that ten new cases of swine flu had been confirmed by lab tests, bringing the number diagnosed in this way to 508 so far.

But doctors in Greater Glasgow and Clyde are now in some circumstances diagnos-ing patients on the basis of symptoms alone, with 351 new cases identified in this way yesterday.

Added to a further 71 cases "clinically diagnosed" on Monday, it means Scotland now has 930 reports of swine flu. In addition, a further 414 possible cases are being investigated.

Due to the large leap in cases, it is understood officials are to sample a number of the clinically diagnosed patients to check to see if there are any "false positive" result which may be making the total numbers appear higher than they actually are. The audit will check the effectiveness of clinical diagnoses to see if this method should continue to be used.

Ms Sturgeon said: "As expected, we are continuing to see a rise in the number of H1N1 cases reported in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. We are one of the best-prepared countries in the world, but it is important that we stay focused on doing everything we can to minimise the impact the flu will have.

"I would reiterate that the risk to the general public from this virus remains low and we can all play our part in slowing the spread by following simple hygiene procedures – like washing your hands and using tissues when coughing or sneezing."

Speaking at an NHS Scotland conference in Glasgow yesterday, NHS chief executive Dr Kevin Woods praised the work of NHS staff in handling the swine flu situation.

"It is especially pleasing that the director general of the WHO (World Health Organisation), Margaret Chan, has specifically commended and thanked Scotland for the efforts we have made to date," he said.

"We believe this is a very good example of what our Scottish NHS, working with public services across Scotland, can achieve and how, when we are focused and effective in our arrangements, we can successfully protect the health of our population and have that effort recognised at a global level."

The Health Protection Agency yesterday also confirmed a further 142 new cases of swine flu – one patient in Northern Ireland and the remaining 141 in England.

A worker at military college Sandhurst in Surrey has also been diagnosed with swine flu.

The member of staff, who works in the stores, discovered he had the virus on Friday.