Four more cases of swine flu brings UK total to 137

Published on Monday 25 May 2009 22:11

FOUR more people were confirmed with the swine flu virus yesterday, taking the total number in the UK to 137, health officials said.

The new cases, affecting three children and an adult, are in London, the South East and the West Midlands, the Health Protection Agency said.

Three of the patients were linked to previously confirmed cases while one had recently returned from abroad.

The total number of cases in England has now reached 123, with 13 in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. A second case was confirmed by health chiefs in the Irish Republic last night.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The localised cases of swine flu in the UK have so far been mild, and our strategy of containing the spread with anti-virals appears to be effective. But we must not be complacent – it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic."

The Department of Health said the UK is well-placed to deal with the infection.