Virus hits adult who recently returned from Mexico
The first case of swine flu in Hammersmith and Fulham has been confirmed on Monday by the Health Protection Agency.
The confirmation came on Monday, May 4, with NHS London saying the person is an adult who recently returned from Mexico.
Officials are not confirming that the patient is Australian journalist Kate Corbett, who lives in Fulham and says she received conflicting advice and travelled freely around the area before being told by a doctor at the Health Protection Agency that she had tested positive for the virus.
Kate, 29 has been given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and has written in the Independent newspaper: " I feel as if I have
nothing but a common cold. "
And Kate, whose four flatmates have also been given Tamiflu but have shown no symptoms, adds: " It feels like a whole lot of panic over nothing. I would not have even thought about going to my GP about my sniffly nose and cough until I heard the news about swine flu last weekend."
Seven other cases were also confirmed in London on Monday, bringing the total to 13. Three schools have now closed as a precaution, the latest being Dolphin School in Battersea, where two siblings attending the school have fallen ill with the virus.
The NHS says that all the confirmed cases in this country have mild symptoms and are responding to treatment at home. The majority are associated with travel to Mexico.
But the NHS say preparations are being made in case the situation worsens. A statement on the NHS Choices website says: " The government has a stockpile of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza which should be sufficient to treat up to half of the population if they become ill – a reasonable worst-case scenario. The health secretary has said that the drugs have been shown to be effective if given in good time.
" The government has also announced that additional antiviral medication has been ordered to increase UK supplies to 50 million doses, enough to treat 80% of the population."
Leaflets offering advice on swine flu are being distributed to every household in the UK from today.
May 5, 2009
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