Swine flu may already be in UK - Midlands expert
Apr 27 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail
A LEADING Midland virus expert today warned that deadly swine flu may have already spread from Mexico to Britain.
Prof Nigel Dimmock, a virologist at the University of Warwick, said: “Swine flu could already have reached the UK. There really is cause to worry. If it’s a new virus no-one will have any immunity. It will not be possible to keep it out.”
He added: “We may have to prepare ourselves for a new pandemic virus. This has the potential to be bigger than Spanish influenza.
“We will know in the next few days how nasty this is going to be. If it spreads upwards from the 1,000 or so cases we are seeing at the moment, then everyone is in trouble.
“We have to hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
The H1N1 strain of the virus has already been blamed for more than a hundred deaths in the central American country, with more cases increasing daily in other countries around the world.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson said that Britain was now on “constant alert” .
A flight from Mexico is due to land at Birmingham International Airport tomorrow morning.
The Airport said it would follow Government advice in dealing with passengers coming off the service from Cancun and other direct flights from Mexico.
The airport operates a direct weekly Thomson service to Cancun.
A spokesman for Birmingham Airport said: “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and deal with passengers in accordance with the latest Government advice.”
Officials at London’s Heathrow airport started checking passengers for symptoms at the weekend.
Passengers flying in from Mexico City were held on their plane for 45 minutes while health officials asked questions and checked them for signs of the virus.
At Heathrow, there were fears that a male air steward taken to hospital after arriving at Heathrow on a flight from Mexico City may have contracted the virus after complaining of flu-like symptoms.
But laboratory tests at a north London hospital have since revealed he does not have swine flu.
However, the Mr Johnson said he had no doubt that there would be more cases of travellers coming into the UK with flu-like symptoms and promised that they will be examined “very, very quickly” by the NHS.
He said that, so far, no cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Britain or the rest of Europe.
But tests are continuing to assess two people admitted to hospital in Scotland suffering “flu-like symptoms” after returning from Mexico.
A third Briton, who had been told to stay away from other people after he also returned from Mexico with flu-like symptoms, was cleared by tests this morning.
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