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Influenza A (H1N1) update
09/06/2009
Scotland has a further 32 new confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) today, taking the country's total to 264.
The new cases are in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (22), Highland (8), Lanarkshire (1) and Lothian (1) NHS Boards. Twenty-five of these are non-travel related and seven are travel related.
There are 11 patients in hospital. One patient was discharged yesterday, but two further cases have been admitted.
Three patients - a 45-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman and a 23-year-old woman remain in intensive care in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley and their conditions are unchanged.
Another two patients remain in high dependency units, one in the Royal Alexandra in Paisley and another at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow.
Confirmed cases in two primary schools in the NHS Highland area have prompted risk assessments by public health officials. As a result, children from a Primary Three class at Rothesay Primary School and a Primary Six class at Dunoon Primary School have been asked to stay at home for seven days and issued with Tamiflu.
Primary Five pupils from Shawlands Primary School in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area have been asked to stay at home for a week after a case of influenza A (H1N1) was confirmed. Parents of the 55 pupils affected are being contacted and they will be issued with Tamiflu this evening.
In addition, four cases have been confirmed at Pollokshaws Day Nursery School and the nursery will close for seven days from 15.30 this afternoon.
There are eight healthcare workers among the confirmed cases.
In addition, there are 380 possible cases under investigation, 12 of these are travel related and 368 are non-travel related.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
"The excellent response from our public health teams means new cases of the virus are being detected quickly.
"While this means we are still seeing relatively large increases in the number of confirmed cases, these remain confined for the most part to particular areas and many health boards are not reporting any rise in cases.
"Where new cases are being identified, Health Protection Scotland and public health officials are moving quickly to trace contacts and treat people appropriately. We are also continuing to plan and prepare for any future eventuality.
"While we do have a small number of patients in hospital and this will of course be concerning for these individuals and their families, in general people are experiencing mild symptoms.
"Scotland's experience is comparable to many other countries and there is no need for people to be unduly worried.
"I would urge people to continue taking sensible hygiene precautions and, if you do start to develop flu-like symptoms, to stay at home and contact your GP or NHS 24."
Board breakdown of confirmed cases:
Greater Glasgow and Clyde - 22
Highland - 8
Lanarkshire - 1
Lothian - 1
Total: 32
Board breakdown of possible cases:
Ayrshire and Arran - 8
Borders - 1
Dumfries and Galloway - 3
Fife - 3
Forth Valley - 10
Greater Glasgow & Clyde - 290
Highland - 42
Lanarkshire - 17
Lothian - 5
Tayside - 1
Total - 380