A WOMAN being tested for possible swine flu at a Manchester hospital is "highly unlikely" to have the deadly virus, health chiefs have said.
The Canadian woman, who was visiting family in Sale, Trafford, was admitted to hospital on Monday morning.
She is expected to stay in hospital overnight until tests are complete but health officials say she seems 'well' and is not displaying the severe symptoms seen in swine flu cases abroad.
A spokeswoman for the regional health authority NHS North West said: "Following further investigation it is now thought highly unlikely that the patient has swine flu.
"Tests are being carried out as a precaution, however it is thought the patient has had a viral infection."
It is understood the woman is being monitored at the North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall, Manchester.
Test results are expected to confirm on Tuesday that she does not have swine flu and the woman will then be discharged from hospital.
Tourists abandon flight to Mexico from Manchester
What is swine flu?
The first British cases of the deadly swine flu responsible for dozens of deaths in Mexico were confirmed tonight .
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told a press conference in Edinburgh: “I can confirm that tests have demonstrated conclusively that the two Scottish cases of swine flu are positive.”
Ms Sturgeon added that both patients, at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, are 'recovering well'.
The UK has been placed on alert as the global health watchdog warned countries to look out for unusual flu cases.
World Health Organisation director-general Margaret Chan said the outbreak in Mexico and the United States constituted a “public health emergency of international concern”.
It means nations will be expected to step up reporting and surveillance of the contagious respiratory disease, which she said had “pandemic potential”.
The H1N1 strain of swine flu usually associated with pigs has spread to humans, causing symptoms including fever and fatigue.
More than 100 people have died of pneumonia in Mexico after contracting a flu-like virus and many others - including children in a New York school - have been made ill in the US and Mexico.
Health authorities are monitoring the situation as tests were carried out to assess the potential of the virus to spread.
According to the UK Health Protection Agency, there is currently a “very low level” of flu activity in the UK. The agency added that H1N1 was treatable with antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza.
However, the Government's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said Britain will inevitably be hit by cases of swine flu at some point.
“I think it is inevitable that at some point we will have cases in the United Kingdom,” he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One. “Hopefully, if we identify those early and treat people and their contacts, we might be able to reduce the spread.”
Britons are not currently being advised to avoid travelling to affected areas of Mexico and the US, although anyone visiting those destinations or who has recently returned should consult a doctor if they experience flu-like symptoms.
To prevent the spread of illness, the HPA advised people to cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, to throw away dirty tissues promptly and carefully, and to wash hands and surfaces which are regularly touched.
Health bosses are recommending people who suspect they have flu look at the NHS Direct website http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/
Tourists abandon flight to Mexico from Manchester
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infectious diseases unit nmgh.
But I still say we're all DOOMED!
While it is always Wise to keep a Weathered Eye on these things, there is a Good Chance this whole thing is a Hoax, a Ruse, if you will.......started by the Mexican Government, which is Near Collapse. What better way to limit assembly and travel??
Why go all the way from Sale to North Manchester General? Should this have been a confirmed case, how many people must she have come into contact with on the journey-MRI is much nearer?
I think it would be extremely naive to suggest this is a hoax by the Mexican government! Especially when you consider that the world health organisation has made comments showing they are concerned about the situation, the UK government has held a COBRA meeting and there are reported cases in Canada, the US, Spain and UK. Unless of course you are suggesting that these other countries are all in on the idea with the Mexican government and they have the world health organisation in their pockets too?
I don't think we should panic, however it's naive to suggest this is all made up by the Mexicans.
Well I was in North Manchester General yesterday on a ward that used to be part of the infectious diseases unit. It is the adjoining ward to where this women was and nobody knew about it not even the staff on my ward until we saw it on TV. I can't believe the World Health organisation are not recommending travel restrictions. I think that is a big mistake. They say this is because the virus has already spread but surely it will spread less if travel to Mexico and the US is reduced to essential travel only. Its like they only see things in terms of statistics.
Why go all the way from Sale to North Manchester General? Should this have been a confirmed case, how many people must she have come into contact with on the journey-MRI is much nearer?
bubbob, manchester
27/04/2009 at 21:12
Because its the leading infectious diseases hostpital bar none ive a friend who works there as a consultant,it deals with hiv and hepititis and all infectious desaes you can throw a book at.