Britain's death toll from swine flu reached 30 today when a 15-year-old girl from Glasgow was confirmed as the latest victim of the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 700 people worldwide.
The teenager, who is not being named at her family's request, died a week after being admitted to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow. Like most of the previous victims, she had other underlying medical conditions.
The girl is the fourth fatality from Glasgow, which is one of the UK's swine flu "hotspots". Her death raises fresh fears that the virus, while relatively mild for most people, can be more dangerous for children.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said: "The tragic death of this young girl is devastating for her family and friends, and I'd like to express my sincere condolences. As we have seen in previous cases, this patient was suffering from underlying health conditions and her death should not cause alarm among the general population."
The first person outside the Americas to die from swine flu was also a Scot from the Glasgow area, a pregnant mother of three, Jacqui Fleming. She died on 14 June, soon after giving birth prematurely to her fourth son. He later died from unrelated complications.
Meanwhile, the London schoolgirl widely reported to have been killed by swine flu, Chloe Buckley, actually died from septic shock linked to her tonsilitis, it was revealed today.
Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for London, said: "A postmortem has concluded that six-year-old Chloe Buckley died of septic shock on 9 July as a result of a tonsilitis infection caused by the streptococcus A bacterium. Chloe was also found to have the swine flu H1N1 virus."
However, swine flu was "a significant contributory factor" in the death earlier this month of Bedfordshire GP Dr Michael Day, the coroner's final report has found. The 64-year-old doctor also suffered a blood clot to his lung and had heart disease and high blood pressure.
The global death toll from swine flu has more than trebled in the last month, World Health Organisation figures show. More than 700 people worldwide have now died after contracting the virus, the WHO said today, a big increase on the 231 deaths announced on 22 June and the 429 fatalities confirmed on 6 July.
WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said school closures were possible measures countries may want to adopt to try to slow the virus's spread.
Some church leaders in the UK and abroad have decided to stop offering communion wine during services, fearing that it could cause the virus to spread. In New Zealand, the Roman Catholic church has banned priests from placing communion wafers on the tongues of worshippers, while Chilean authorities last night prompted protests after they suspended a northern religious celebration.
New figures due out tomorrow from the Royal College of GPs will show a huge rise in the number of people in England who are contacting their GP with symptoms of influenza-like illness. Labour's candidate in the Norwich North by-election, Chris Ostrowski, is being treated for suspected swine flu in Norfolk and Norwich hospital.
People whose holiday plans are ruined by swine flu will still need a GP's certificate for proof of illness before claiming from travel insurance, the insurance industry insisted today. Talks between the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Department of Health (DH) are ongoing.
The ABI has been studying website and hotline guidance due to be made available this week through the government's new National Pandemic Flu Service.
When launched it will effectively enable any caller or internet user to self-diagnose and request Tamiflu. Such a prescription will be not sufficient proof of illness, however, an ABI spokeswoman confirmed today.
The new service is intended to take pressure off GPs and allow them to treat more urgent cases while letting those with swine flu receive antiviral drugs. But the hotlines will be staffed mainly by people who are not medically qualified.
