Scottish woman tested for swine flu after New York trip

Published on Tuesday 5 May 2009 16:42

A WOMAN from North East Scotland is suspected of contracting swine flu after a trip to New York, Health Secretary Nichola Sturgeon said today.

The 21-year old woman, from the Grampian area, is the latest probable case of the virus in Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon yesterday revealed details of another probable case, involving a woman from Fife who had been in Las Vegas.

But today she said that woman had tested negative for swine flu.

The result means there are still four confirmed cases of the H1N1 infection in Scotland.

There were 21 travel-related possible cases of the virus, Ms Sturgeon also said.

She added there were a further two possible cases who were passengers on a Flybe flight from Birmingham to Glasgow.

Health officials have been working to trace people who were on the flight after a man from the Ayrshire and Arran area who had been on the plane tested positive.

Ms Sturgeon told a news conference in Edinburgh: "We still have four confirmed cases in Scotland, there's no change on that since yesterday."

She went on: "I've just been informed that the result for yesterday's probable case in Fife is negative, so that individual does not have swine flu.

"However, we do have a further probable case under investigation today, a 21-year-old female in Grampian who returned from New York to Heathrow on April 25 and then from London on to Aberdeen on April 26."

However, Ms Sturgeon added the woman did not have the "main onset of symptoms" until April 28.

She said the woman had reported having "very mild symptoms on the flight, I understand a headache".

But she said this had been assessed by health officials and they considered these to be "flight related symptoms and not of any flu virus".

And the Health Secretary said in these circumstances there was no requirement to trace the other people who had been on the same flights.

Of the 21 possible cases in Scotland which are travel related, five are in the Lothians area, four in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and there are a further four in the Forth Valley region.

There are two possible cases in the Fife area, a further two in the Highlands and one each in the Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian, Lanarkshire and Tayside regions.