A nationwide leaflet campaign giving information about swine flu will start in the United Kingdom today after 27 cases of the virus were confirmed there.
Yesterday, the HPA confirmed nine new cases of swine flu, bringing the total across the country to 27.
The first leaflets will drop through doors today after the Department of Health’s announcement last week of a blanket delivery.
The move comes after a fifth school was closed as the number of people confirmed with the H1N1 virus rose by a third yesterday.
Many of those who are newly diagnosed are said to have caught the virus from contact with people in the UK who had visited Mexico or the United States.
The information leaflet suggests ways in which people can reduce their chances of catching swine flu and gives advice on what they should do if they develop symptoms.
The Dolphin School in Battersea, south London, announced its closure last night after two pupils fell ill with the virus. They are siblings and close contacts of a previously confirmed case, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said.
The school said the closure was a precautionary measure by the board of governors although no other pupils had shown symptoms.
Alleyn’s School in Dulwich, south east London, South Hampstead High School in north west London, Downend School in South Gloucestershire, and Paignton Community and Sports College in Devon are also closed.
Five Year 7 pupils at Alleyn’s School were diagnosed with the virus yesterday. A sixth pupil, who visited the US during the Easter holidays, had already been confirmed with the H1N1 virus.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman said yesterday the agency may raise its pandemic level from five to its highest alert, level six.
Spain’s Health Ministry said 54 cases have now been confirmed in the hardest-hit nation in Europe. Portugal confirmed its first case yesterday, a 30-year-old woman who recently returned from a holiday in Mexico.
France confirmed two new cases in people who had been to Mexico, taking the total number to four.
Reuters