Swine flu: Contacts of Birmingham passenger given anti-flu drugs
Anti-swine flu drugs have been given to people who came into contact with a man who spent three days in Birmingham before being diagnosed with the bug.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said nobody was believed to have caught the virus from the man while he was in the city, but they were prescribed the anti-viral tablets as a precaution.
Officials say the man, from Ayrshire, caught a flight to Birmingham from the US on April 27 before jetting to Glasgow three days later.
The HPA has refused to reveal details of the man’s movements but said those who spent time in “close contact” had been offered drugs.
A further case of swine flu was diagnosed in the south east of England yesterday, taking the total number to 28 cases in the UK.
Health Protection Scotland said it had now traced the “vast majority” of passengers who were in close contact with the infected man on Flybe flight BE7096 to Glasgow.
The body, which is equivalent to the HPA, appealed for the 52 passengers to contact the NHS after revealing that they and the four crew may be at “low risk” of infection with the H1N1 virus.
An HPA spokesman said: “We are aware that all of those close contacts have been advised and offered anti-viral drugs as part of a follow up by Health Protection Scotland.
“We are not able to say what the man’s movements were.”
Three of the UK’s previous confirmed swine flu cases are known to have arrived in Birmingham on flights from Mexico, including Britain’s first victims, newlyweds Iain and Dawn Askham from Scotland.
