Harrow swine flu cases continue to rise (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Swine flu in Harrow rises with two new cases confirmed

3:51pm Monday 22nd June 2009 in Swine Flu By Jack Royston

TWO new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Harrow this morning, bringing the total to eight in just two weeks.

Two pupils from the same class at Earlsmead First and Middle School, in Arundel Drive, are among the infected and all are said to have mild forms of the virus, which has spread around the world from Mexico.

The borough's first case was confirmed on Tuesday, June 9.

Sarah Crowther, chief executive of NHS Harrow, said: “I think we and all the other partner agencies are as well prepared as we could possibly be.

“There is a developing picture of swine flu and the picture in Harrow is no different to the picture in the rest of the country.”

She added: “I think it's really difficult to speculate about what's going to happen to the numbers both locally and nationally.”

She said she felt the number cases in Harrow was still relatively low.

All eight swine flu patients are at home recovering and the families of the pupils from Earlsmead have been given Tamiflu, the antiviral drug used to treat the illness.

Dr Carole Furlong, a consultant in public health with NHS Harrow, said: “It's just the nature of flu that people tend to pass it on to each other.

“I don't think it's anything to be unduly worried about because it's a fairly mild form of the disease.”

She said there were no problems with the organisation's stocks of Tamiflu.