6:12pm Sunday 28th June 2009
The first case of swine flu has been confirmed in Pembrokeshire.
The National Public Health Service for Wales has revealed that a a 10 year-old boy in the county has contracted the virus.
However, the Western Telegraph understands that the boy diagnosed with the potentially-fatal illness has been on holiday in the county, and is not a resident.
But a spokeswoman for the National Public Health Service for Wales would not confirm or deny whether the youngster was local or a visitor.
She said: "The child has not actually been in school while he has been unwell. He has been given anti-viral treatment, which has also been offered to his close contacts, and he is making a good recovery."
The boy did not need hospital treatment, she added. Earlier, a spokesman had said:
"His infection is related to travel. His close contacts have been identified. He has been offered antiviral medicine and is recovering well."
No further details about the boy will be revealed for patient confidentiality reasons.
Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, said: “We have made it clear that there would be cases in Wales and that the number of cases would rise. Therefore everyone must continue to be vigilant and try to reduce the spread of the virus.
“Our advice to the public remains the same, people should follow good respiratory and hand hygiene to help prevent the spread of influenza – always using a tissue to catch sneezes, throwing away used tissues where germs can linger and killing germs by regularly washing your hands, or cleaning them with a sanitising gel. In short, catch it, bin it, kill it.
“So far the virus is generally mild in most people, but proving more severe in a small number of cases, and one person has died in Scotland.
”We have warned that we need to expect that, with large numbers of people contracting swine flu, there will be deaths, particularly in patients with underlying health conditions. Even with the seasonal flu, we do see deaths occuring.
“Although it is natural for people to feel apprehensive, I would like to reassure the public that we have been working to prepare for the arrival of the virus for many years and have robust procedures in place.”
Further information for the public is available on the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513.
Further information on swine flu and Pandemic Flu is available bilingually from www.nphs.wales.nhs.uk Further information from the Welsh Assembly Government response is available bilingually at www.wales.gov.uk
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