Swine flu cases in county hits 25 (From Daily Echo)

Swine flu cases in county hits 25

11:02am Friday 26th June 2009 in Health By Jon Reeve, Education Reporter

THE number of confirmed swine flu cases in Hampshire has jumped to 25.

One of the latest victims is a teenager who caught the potentially fatal virus while on holiday in Mexico, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The dramatic rise in cases in the county comes as the Government admitted it could not contain the outbreak in some parts of the country.

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There have now been almost 3,600 Britons diagnosed as being infected with the life-threatening A/H1N1 strain of the virus that has sparked the worldwide pandemic.

Becky Simpson, from Ashurst Bridge, near Totton, caught swine flu during a break in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

Her family – including a younger sister at secondary school and her mum who works in one of Southampton’s largest offices – have put themselves under voluntary quarantine for fear of infecting others.

The 19-year-old had tried to cancel her two-week holiday, but was told that because government advice says it is safe to visit the country, she wouldn’t be entitled to a refund.

She fell ill during the trip, but was told by Mexican doctors she had a sore throat.

Becky was allowed to travel back to Britain on a packed flight to Gatwick, but was then diagnosed by doctors back home after spending last weekend in bed.

The sales administrator for Garmin in Hounsdown has now been given anti-viral drug Tamiflu and told to stay off work until Monday.

And the whole family – mum Diane, 43, sister Lauren, 15, and brother Ben, 22 – has also been given the drugs, and put themselves under voluntary quarantine.

Lauren has been kept out of lessons at Hounsdown School, while Diane is also staying away from work at Skandia.

But one of Lauren’s school friends is now awaiting test results to discover if she has contracted the disease, after being hospitalised with flu-like symptoms.

“We didn’t want Becky to go, but they said she would be fine,” Diane told the Daily Echo.

“She got treatment over there, but wasn’t tested, and when she got back she virtually went straight to bed for the whole weekend. She’s fine now, but it was frightening.”

Hounsdown School would not comment on the case, but a spokeswoman for Hampshire County Council said she was not aware of any cases of swine flu at any of the county’s schools.

Meanwhile parents of pupils at Tanners Brook Junior School in Southampton were yesterday given letters saying that one of the pupils was under investigation as “a probable case” of swine flu.

However both the infant and junior schools will open today.

Earlier this week, Verwood CE First School – on the edge of the New Forest – closed for seven days after a pupil was diagnosed with swine flu.

All children in Year 4 at the 300-pupil school, which is shut until Tuesday, have been offered Tamiflu by health workers.

The first confirmed case of swine flu in Hampshire was revealed by the Daily Echo on May 23.

A University of Southampton student was diagnosed with the virus after a trip to the United States, but made a full recovery.