NI boys 'first to get swine flu'

The government is stockpiling antivirals and ordering vaccine

A six-year-old boy and his little brother are the first children from Northern Ireland to test positive for swine flu.

The boys and their aunt - who also has the virus - returned home from a family holiday in Mexico last week.

St Ronan's primary school in Newry, County Down, where the six-year-old boy is a P2 pupil, has shut down early for the summer following the news.

The child's fellow pupils in class have been offered anti-viral treatment.

Some parents from another P2 class are concerned that they haven't been approached.

However, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency said only those in contact with the family needed to be concerned.

It's understood the boys' mother remains in Mexico following a family wedding.

The child was at school for just one day, towards the end of last week.

Health minister Michael McGimpsey said the Public Health Agency had been working closely with staff at the school and stressed that the risk was low.

Meanwhile, it has emerged delivering leaflets on swine flu to every house in Northern Ireland cost the Department of Health £123,583. The cost of the television publicity campaign for Northern Ireland was £73,369.

It has been confirmed that a nine-year-old girl has died at Birmingham Children's Hospital in England after contracting swine flu.

NHS West Midlands said the girl, who had other serious underlying health conditions, died on Friday evening.

It is not known if swine flu contributed to her death, the hospital said.

Her death is the third swine-flu related fatality in the UK.

A 73-year-old man who was suffering from swine flu died in a Scottish hospital at the weekend.

He was being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and died late on Saturday.

The first person to die from swine flu outside North America was Jacqui Fleming, 38, of Glasgow, who died on 14 June.