Four Cases Of Suspected Swine Flu

There are four more suspected cases of swine flu in Worcestershire, the Health Protection Agency in the county says.

A 41-year-old woman from Redditch contracted the disease after visiting Mexico, Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed on Wednesday.

The West Midlands Health Protection Agency said the confirmed case in Redditch was only “a mild case”.

It said she was responding well to treatment at home and there was “no need” for other people to worry.

Raised alert

Five people the woman had been in contact with – including family members – have been given anti-viral drugs.

Five people in the UK, including a girl of 12, are known to have the virus, but all are responding well to treatment.

An advertising campaign promoting good hygiene to help combat the threat of swine flu has been launched in the UK.

The Department of Health’s Catch it, Bin it, Kill it! adverts urge people to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues, throw them away and wash their hands.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its alert to level five – one short of a full-blown pandemic.

Dr David Kirrage, director of the Health Protection Agency for Worcestershire, has issued advice to residents in the area.

He said: “(We should do) things like hand washing, making sure that we use handkerchiefs or tissues and dispose of those tissues if we are sneezing.

“(Also we should be) cleaning work surfaces, not obsessively, but making sure that particularly (on) those work surfaces which might be used by a large number of people we keep up the normal cleaning regime.”

Dr Richard Harling, director of public health for Worcestershire, has said: “Symptoms of infection include fever, cough, runny nose, limb or joint pain and headache.

“People who develop symptoms and who have returned from Mexico or the US within the last seven days should stay at home and contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

“We will then make arrangements to come and assess them and provide treatment if necessary. They are asked not to go to their GP and not to go to hospital.”