A patient suffering from swine flu has died in hospital in Scotland, becoming the first person outside the Americas to have been killed by the virus.
The Scottish government disclosed that the patient, thought to be from the Paisley area and one of 10 Scots in hospital with the H1N1 virus, had underlying health problems.
Last night the victim was locally identified as a 38-year-old woman from Glasgow, who had prematurely given birth to a baby in recent days. She had been in intensive care at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley, where a large number of those infected with the H1N1 virus have been treated. Health officials said earlier today that nearly 500 people in Scotland had been diagnosed with the virus, with a majority in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
The Scottish government released a statement shortly before 8pm tonight, stating: "With regret, we can confirm that one of the patients who had been in hospital and had been confirmed as suffering from the H1N1 virus, has died today. At the family's request, to allow them time to come to terms with their loss, no further details will be released tonight."
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said: "I'd like to express my condolences to the patient's family and friends," she said. "This is a tragedy for those concerned and they have my heartfelt sympathy. Tragic though today's death is, I would like to emphasise that the vast majority of those who have H1N1 are suffering from relatively mild symptoms."
Last week, Scottish ministers pre-empted a World Health Organisation decision to declare a world wide pandemic by announcing that it was widespread in the community, particularly in Glasgow and two nearby towns, Paisley and Dunoon.
Although more than 1,000 Britons and over 680 elsewhere in Europe have contracted H1N1, until today fatalities had been confined to north, central and south America. The latest WHO swine flu bulletin said there had been 145 confirmed deaths, chiefly in Mexico and the US.
Earlier today, the Scottish government said there were 498 cases confirmed so far, after 35 new cases were confirmed, 32 of those in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.
The Health Protection Agency in England reported 61 fresh cases, chiefly around Birmingham, where health officials believe there is a similar rate of infection to Glasgow. Of the 752 English cases, 354 are in the West Midlands.Speaking before the death emerged, Sturgeon said: "We continue to see a rise in cases of H1N1 around the world, and Scotland is not isolated from that.
"Given the number of cases being confirmed in the West Midlands, there is an indication that the area is experiencing a level of spread similar to what we are seeing in Scotland.
"We remain one of the best prepared countries in the world and, as in every other country, the vast majority of people contracting the virus are experiencing relatively mild symptoms."
