An outbreak of swine flu at a Birmingham primary school led to 44 new cases of the virus being confirmed yesterday, the largest number in a single day since the spread began.
Pupils at Welford primary in Handsworth, Birmingham, began feeling ill last week when three cases were initially diagnosed. Yesterday, lab results confirmed a further 44 infections at the school. They included 41 children and three adults. Three more people from the east of England and London were also diagnosed, taking the total in the UK so far to 184, the Department of Health said.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) insisted that high rates of infection were to be expected in school environments where children come into close contact with one another. The school is closed this week for half term and expected to open for all pupils who are feeling well next week.
Before the holidays began, the headteacher informed the HPA there had been an unusually high number of absences owing to illness. At least 100 children had been off sick, according to local reports. As a result of the first confirmed case, all parents and staff were told either to attend the school over the weekend to collect antiviral medication or to receive medical attention at home.
A joint statement issued by the school and the HPA, posted on the school's website, says that it is undergoing a "deep clean" of the premises during the holiday before it reopens. The headteacher, Chris Smith, was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The HPA said that all confirmed cases are being treated at home with antivirals and are responding well to treatment. HPA officers contacted every parent of children in the school as well as teachers to find out if they have symptoms.
A spokeswoman for the HPA said that they had not yet identified the source of the outbreak. "The initial case is still under investigation. The vast majority of cases have been in people recently returning from an infected country or who have been in close contact with someone who has just returned. This is one of a very small number of cases where there isn't that history," she said.
The school recently featured in a BBC2 documentary called The Primary, about building a multicultural school community with children of 17 different nationalities. The school has 420 pupils and 60 in its nursery unit.
Almost 50 countries have now confirmed cases of swine flu and about 13,000 people around the world have been diagnosed with the virus. The death toll from the virus in Mexico stands at 83, while 12 people have died in the United States and two have died in Canada.
Of four cases confirmed on Monday in the UK, one was yesterday revealed to be a two-year-old boy from Oxford.
A DoH spokesman said: "The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have so far been mild, and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission. Our strategy of containing the spread with anti-virals appears to have been effective in reducing symptoms and preventing further spread of infection.
"But we must not be complacent – it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic. The UK's arrangements are continuing, to ensure that we are well-placed to deal with this new infection."
