Swine flu claims 66th UK victim after death in Scotland

Published on Thursday 27 August 2009 21:41

THE number of deaths linked to swine flu in the UK now stands at 66 after a man died last night in Edinburgh, officials have revealed.

The 52-year-old, who died in the Western General Hospital, had "significant" underlying health problems.

He is the seventh person in Scotland to die after contracting the H1N1 bug.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "

As we have seen in previous cases, this patient was suffering from underlying health conditions, and his death should not cause alarm among the general population."

There have also been 57 deaths in England, most in London, alongside one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

Swine flu patient Sharon Pentleton, 26, who was flown to Sweden for specialist treatment while pregnant, has now recovered and has been sent home from a Scottish hospital.

Chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, said there were an estimated 5,000 new cases of swine flu in England in the past week.

This is a continued drop on the number of people newly diagnosed with the virus – in the previous week there were an estimated 11,000 new cases.

A total of 218 people are being treated in hospital in England for swine flu, of which 31 are in intensive care.

This is also a fall on last week's figures when there were 263 in hospital – of whom 30 were in intensive care.

About 200,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine have been delivered by the pharmaceutical firm Baxter for use in the UK.

The first vaccinations of people in at-risk groups – such as those with asthma and diabetes – are expected to take place in October after the vaccine receives its licence.