New Swine Flu Cases Linked To School

More than 40 children confirmed as suffering from swine flu at a school in Britain on Tuesday are responding well to treatment, health authorities said.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said a total of 44 cases of swine flu were linked to a primary school in the Handsworth area of Birmingham in central England, and the number is expected to rise in the coming days.

But a spokeswoman for the Agency said none of the total of 50 patients linked to the school — some of which were confirmed last week — had required hospital treatment. They are being given anti-viral medication at home.

In a statement, the Department of Health said all the cases seen in Britain so far were “mild” and that there was no evidence of “widespread community transmission”.

On its website, the 460-pupil Welford Primary School said it had noticed a high number of absences due to illness early last week, and on official advice it closed last Thursday, one day before a scheduled week’s holiday.

The local branch of the HPA said the school was undergoing a “deep clean” before re-opening next week.

The 47 new cases of swine flu cases confirmed on Tuesday — including three cases elsewhere in England — took the total number of confirmed cases in Britain to 184.

According to the latest tally from the World Health Organization, issued on Tuesday, 12,954 people have been infected with A(H1N1) across 46 countries, including 91 who died.