UK swine flu cases top 4,000 as BMA warns over pandemic

Published on Friday 26 June 2009 23:11

MORE than 600 new cases of swine flu were confirmed across the UK yesterday.

In Scotland, there were 72 new lab-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, while in England there were 535 new cases.

There have now been 922 confirmed cases in Scotland, with more than 4,000 across the UK.

The majority of new cases in Scotland – 61 – were in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Four people remain in hospital with the virus north of the Border.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the latest increase was not unexpected.

Meanwhile, Dr Peter Terry, head of the British Medical Association in Scotland, said the country had done well in dealing with the threat of swine flu so far. But he admitted he was worried about what would happen as cases started to surge.

"One must worry about the capacity in the face of a pandemic," he said. "We have struggled with just seasonal flu on occasions.

"Hopefully, a combination of Tamiflu and vaccination and good planning and preparation will enable us to get through it. But I suspect there are going to be some really hard challenges for us all."