A VICTIM of swine flu died yesterday in Scotland, the first fatality in Britain from the virus. The person was among 10 people hospitalised with the H1N1 virus, the Scottish government said in a statement. No details were given. The victim had “underlying health conditions”, the government said.
Yesterday’s death was “to be expected” and “does not point to the virus getting nastier”, a leading expert said last night. Prof Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University, said underlying health problems were likely to have been a “significant factor”.
He said: “It’s very sad but with the number of cases we have seen it is really something which was always going to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately it is to be expected. This is what the authorities have been saying will happen for a long time.
“It does not point to the virus getting nastier. All the evidence to date suggests the virus is not changing at all.”
Yesterday the government in Scotland reported 35 new cases of swine flu, bringing the total in the country to 498. The virus is being detected in Scotland at one of the fastest rates in the world. Many of the cases are in Glasgow and neighbouring areas in the west of Scotland, a region with one of Europe’s worst health records.
Scots, who make up less than one-tenth of the UK’s 60 million population, account for more than one-third of national swine flu cases, based on statistics from the Scottish government and the department of health in London. Scotland also said yesterday there are a further 175 possible cases of H1N1 influenza under investigation. – (Bloomberg/PA)