Human-to-human UK flu case feared

May 1 2009

The first case of human-to-human transfer of swine flu in Britain is expected to be confirmed by officials.

An unnamed man fell ill after being in contact with Iain and Dawn Askham, of Polmont, near Falkirk - Britain's first confirmed victims of the disease - when they returned from their Mexican honeymoon.

He was initially cleared but after continuing to show symptoms, further tests confirmed he was suffering from Type A flu, and he is now being treated with anti-viral drugs at home.

Dr Harry Burns, Scotland's chief medical officer, said: "My understanding is he is through the worst of it, he has had Tamiflu as a contact." The individual's own contacts are now being followed up.

But Dr Alan McNally, senior lecturer and influenza diagnostics researcher at Nottingham Trent University, said human-to-human transmission within the UK would not be a significant development.

He said: "I don't think it is any more significant. We know that it is transmitted from human to human, it has happened in other parts of the world and we know it will happen here."

But he added: "I know that there will be interest in it because members of the public will see that they don't need to have been to Mexico to get it."

He said that the vast majority of the UK's 230 possible cases currently being investigated were likely to have originated from contact with other infected people.

The total number of people in the UK suffering the disease also rose to eight after the Department of Health confirmed that three more people had been diagnosed - two in London and one in the North East.

There are now eight confirmed cases in the UK - six in England, and two in Scotland.