Britain confirms three new swine flu cases
(Adds quotes, details)
By Kate Kelland and Tim Castle
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Britain confirmed another three cases of swine flu on Wednesday, one in London, one in Birmingham and one in a 12-year-old girl in southwest England.
This brings to five the total number of cases in Britain and shows the virus's presence across the country.
All of those affected have recently been in Mexico, where the virus was first detected, and have mild symptoms, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament.
The girl had been on the same flight from Mexico as the honeymooning Scottish couple who were confirmed as Britain's first two cases of swine flu on Monday, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said.
Her school, in Paignton, Devon is to be shut for seven days and all 230 pupils in her year have been given anti-virals as a precaution.
A 41-year-old woman from Redditch in Birmingham and a 22-year-old man from London were the other two new cases.
Johnson said a mass public health information campaign to prevent the spread of swine flu would begin on Thursday under the slogan "Catch It, Bin It, Kill It".
"Always use a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, throw away used tissues, and regularly wash your hands," he said. "They are the three most important messages."
Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said all the cases so far in Britain had come from contact abroad.
"We haven't yet seen any ongoing transmission to other people in the UK," he said, adding that this was the key factor health authorities were monitoring.
Nearly a week after the threat of a flu pandemic emerged in Mexico, that country remained the hardest hit, with up to 159 people killed. The United States confirmed its first death from the virus, in a 23-month-old visiting Mexican baby, on Wednesday.
Brown said Britain was taking "the preparations that are necessary" to try to prevent the spread of the disease.
"We have decided to build up stocks of anti-virals from 35 million to 50 million," he said. "We are ordering a great deal more facemasks and we will be sending out public information to all citizens in this country, and by Tuesday of next week there will be an information leaflet available for every family."
He also said checks at airports were being enhanced and reiterated government advice for people not to travel to Mexico unless necessary.
Governments around the world are adding to already-large stockpiles of Roche's (ROG.VX) Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) inhaled antiviral Relenza, following earlier fears of a pandemic triggered by bird flu.
In Scotland Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said test results had come back negative for 15 out of 23 suspected cases, but that 24 new suspected cases were also being investigated.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
By Kate Kelland and Tim Castle
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Britain confirmed another three cases of swine flu on Wednesday, one in London, one in Birmingham and one in a 12-year-old girl in southwest England.
This brings to five the total number of cases in Britain and shows the virus's presence across the country.
All of those affected have recently been in Mexico, where the virus was first detected, and have mild symptoms, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament.
The girl had been on the same flight from Mexico as the honeymooning Scottish couple who were confirmed as Britain's first two cases of swine flu on Monday, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said.
Her school, in Paignton, Devon is to be shut for seven days and all 230 pupils in her year have been given anti-virals as a precaution.
A 41-year-old woman from Redditch in Birmingham and a 22-year-old man from London were the other two new cases.
Johnson said a mass public health information campaign to prevent the spread of swine flu would begin on Thursday under the slogan "Catch It, Bin It, Kill It".
"Always use a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, throw away used tissues, and regularly wash your hands," he said. "They are the three most important messages."
Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said all the cases so far in Britain had come from contact abroad.
"We haven't yet seen any ongoing transmission to other people in the UK," he said, adding that this was the key factor health authorities were monitoring.
Nearly a week after the threat of a flu pandemic emerged in Mexico, that country remained the hardest hit, with up to 159 people killed. The United States confirmed its first death from the virus, in a 23-month-old visiting Mexican baby, on Wednesday.
Brown said Britain was taking "the preparations that are necessary" to try to prevent the spread of the disease.
"We have decided to build up stocks of anti-virals from 35 million to 50 million," he said. "We are ordering a great deal more facemasks and we will be sending out public information to all citizens in this country, and by Tuesday of next week there will be an information leaflet available for every family."
He also said checks at airports were being enhanced and reiterated government advice for people not to travel to Mexico unless necessary.
Governments around the world are adding to already-large stockpiles of Roche's (ROG.VX) Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) inhaled antiviral Relenza, following earlier fears of a pandemic triggered by bird flu.
In Scotland Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said test results had come back negative for 15 out of 23 suspected cases, but that 24 new suspected cases were also being investigated.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
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