Two in hospital in swine flu alert
Two people have been admitted to a Scottish hospital after returning from Mexico with flu-like symptoms, Scotland's health secretary said.
Nicola Sturgeon said the pair - who went to Scotland on April 21 - had not been in an area affected by recent outbreaks of swine influenza.
She said: "The patients have displayed mild flu-like symptoms and their current condition is not causing concern."
The announcement came as the UK was on alert to look for unusual flu cases after a deadly outbreak.
More than 80 people have died of pneumonia in Mexico after contracting a flu-like virus and many others - including children in a New York school - have fallen ill in the US and Mexico.
Ms Sturgeon, who is also deputy First Minister of Scotland, said "19 or 20" people in Scotland who had come in contact with the two people now in hospital had been traced.
She stressed that the pair were not very ill but were in isolation at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The Scottish government in conjunction with other administrations in the UK, are closely monitoring the situation and assessing the implications, if any, of this situation for Scotland.
"The situation is also being monitored closely and assessed by the international organisations dealing with the prevention and control of infectious diseases."
She said Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond convened a meeting of ministers and officials and that she had spoken to UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson about the development.
