Swine flu cases smash 200 barrier in biggest daily rise

The Scottish Government said there were 43 new cases, nearly all of which were in Glasgow and the surrounding area.

The increasing number of infections over the past weeks means the Scottish total now stands at 232. Seven health care workers are among those infected.

Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, said she expected to see the rise in new infections to continue for a "matter of weeks".

Ten people are continuing to receive hospital treatment, three of whom remain in intensive care. They include a 38-year-old woman from Glasgow who gave birth prematurely, and a 45-year-old man from Paisley, both of whom are still in a critical but stable condition.

The third patient in intensive care, a 23-year-old woman from Paisley, is in a stable condition.

The government said that, of the 43 new cases, none of which are travel-related, 36 are in the health board area of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, three are in the Highlands, and two are in Lanarkshire, with one apiece in Ayrshire and Arran and Fife.

A further 157 possible cases are being investigated, eight of which are travel-related.

Officials added that pupils at the P2/3 composite class at St David Primary, Johnstone, Renfrewshire, are to be excluded from classes for a week following a confirmed case.

Arrangements are being made for parents to collect Tamiflu medication from public health officials.

Meanwhile, officials at Carnegie College in Dunfermline, where a female staff number was confirmed as having swine flu on Friday, defended the institution's actions in the wake of the incident.

Some staff expressed concern claiming the principal, Professor Bill McIntosh, said the canteen where the woman worked should remain open.

In a statement, Prof McIntosh said: "The individual was treated at home and experienced mild symptoms. We are pleased to report that the staff member is better and aims to return to work later this week."

Speaking about the nationwide rise in infections, Ms Sturgeon said: "We continue to see a rise in the cases of H1N1 in Scotland which is in line with what we predicted at the start of the spread of the illness.

"I expect that we will continue to see the number of cases rise over the coming weeks.

"Our focus on slowing the spread of H1N1 continues and we are still in a containment phase. But we are planning ahead to make sure that we can cope as more people contract the virus.

"The wellbeing of our health care workers is of the utmost concern and we are working hard to make sure that they have the maximum protection when they are caring for people who have contracted H1N1."

Meanwhile, a further 29 people in England were confirmed with swine flu, bringing the total in the UK to 621, health officials said.

Yesterday, a leading scientist warned the number of people with the illness could be twice as many as the given total.

Professor Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University, said the number of swine flu cases in the UK was probably double the official figure.