Third case of swine flu confirmed in east of State

A THIRD case of swine flu has been confirmed in the Republic, the Department of Health has said.

Its chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said that the woman was from the east of the country and had recently returned from New York.

The patient was aware of the test result and was being treated at her home, the Department of Health said in a statement. It said that all necessary public health protection measures had been taken.

The case was unconnected with another case of influenza type A (H1N1) which was confirmed on Monday, the statement said.

That case also involved a woman from the east of the country who had arrived in from New York.

The first probable case in the State was identified on April 30th and confirmed on May 2nd.

In that instance a young man from the east had just returned from Mexico.

He was treated with Tamiflu and remained in quarantine at home until he recovered.

The flu outbreak, which began in Mexico, has killed more than 90 people around the world.

The Government last week lifted a ban on non-essential travel to Mexico as officials believed the risk of infection had receded.

The Department of Health said it anticipated further cases and asked the public to take health protection measures.

The advice from the department remains that if someone gets sick with a flu-like illness, who has visited an affected area in the seven days before becoming ill or who has been in contact with a known case of influenza A (H1N1), they should contact their GP by telephone for advice.

It asked people not to present at a GP surgery or at accident and emergency.

In addition the department says people can prevent the spread of infection by always covering their nose and mouth with clean tissues when coughing or sneezing, disposing of the tissue in a bin immediately afterwards and washing their hands thoroughly.

Yesterday 44 cases of swine flu were confirmed at a school in central England. This 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.

Since the swine flu outbreak began in April, there have been some 13,000 cases of the virus confirmed in almost 50 countries. There have also been over 90 deaths from the virus in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

The World Health Organisation pandemic alert remained at phase 5 last night.