Girl aged 12 contracts swine flu

Advertisement

A fellow pupil of a girl in Devon confirmed with swine flu speaks of her shock

A 12-year-old Devon girl who recently returned from Mexico is suffering from swine flu, tests have confirmed.

Her school, Paignton Community College in Torbay, is being closed for seven days and pupils in her year are being offered anti-viral treatment.

The girl was described as having mild symptoms and was responding well to treatment.

A number of people are being tested for the flu in the South West. Five people in the UK have contracted the virus.

I'm really scared because I don't want to get it Jordanne Gill, student

Parents were called to the school, which has about 2,000 students, to take their children home.

One mother, Sheena Gill, said the news had been "frightening".

She said: "My daughter was really upset. I'm off to the doctor to get her checked and see what I can do as a parent."

Her daughter, Jordanne, said many of her classmates started crying when they were given the news.

She said: "I heard that there was a girl in our school who has swine flu and I'm really scared because I don't want to get it."

Other parents said they were not aware of the outbreak until Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an announcement confirming the case.

Both school sites, including Waterleat Road, will close for at least seven days

Lisa Walton, 36 - who has two sons, Liam and Jack, at the school - said: "We just had no idea about what was happening here. The school had not told us about it, and my son said the pupils were told around 1pm today.

"Right now we just don't know what to think. Obviously it's a worry."

Professor Antony Kessel, director of public health for the Health Protection Agency, said health staff were acting cautiously in the case of the year seven girl.

He said: "Our local staff decided that, as well as treatment for this girl, that the school year should be given some prophylaxis [disease prevention treatment] and also that the school be closed for a period."

Both of the school's sites, in Waterleat Road and nearby Borough Road, are to be closed for at least seven consecutive days, when the situation will be reviewed.

'Necessary' preparations

The Torbay Care Trust said the girl visited Mexico and returned to school last Wednesday, developing mild flu symptoms at the end of last week.

It said that, after visiting a doctor, she was in isolation at home and had responded well to treatment. Her family were also treated with anti-viral drugs.

Torbay Council said it was working closely with the college and with health professionals to deal with the situation.

Torbay MP Adrian Sanders said people had to deal with problems that their "fears are probably greater than the actual risk".

He said: "We need people to remain calm and listen to advice from the health authority."

'Full recovery'

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said that the 12-year-old had been on the same flight from Mexico as newly-wed couple Iain and Dawn Askham, from Polmont, near Falkirk, Scotland, who were were named as the first UK cases of the disease after returning from honeymoon.

He said the Health Protection Agency identified that the girl had been in close contact with 50 fellow pupils, as well as other people, but that he wanted to reassure residents in the Torbay area, adding that the girl was "doing fine".

He said: "The whole of the school year, 230 children, are being given anti-virals.

"We just want to give the reassuring message that the child is doing well, that there is reassurance that if you take Tamiflu anti-virals early, you make a full recovery."

The virus is thought to have killed nearly 160 people in Mexico.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the UK was taking "the preparations that are necessary and the precautions to prevent the incidence of this disease in this country".