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Influenza A H1N1 update
25/06/2009
Scotland has 111 new laboratory confirmed cases of Influenza A H1N1 taking the total number of confirmed cases to 850.
The latest cases are in: Greater Glasgow and Clyde (92), Lanarkshire (14), Lothian (2), Borders (1), Fife (1) and Tayside (1). Of the latest cases, 108 are non-travel related while the other three are linked with travel.
Today's rise in the number of H1N1 cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde was in part affected by a high volume of laboratory testing over the past few days.
Currently there are four people being treated in hospital for the Influenza A H1N1 virus.
Today also saw three new school closures: St Helen's Primary School, Condorrat, in Cumbernauld; St Charles Primary School, in Cambuslang; Crawforddyke Primary and Nursery, in Carluke.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "We have always expected the number of H1N1 cases to increase in Scotland, which is in keeping with the spread of the outbreak elsewhere in the UK and abroad.
"Today we have 111 additional confirmations of H1N1 but it remains the case that the majority of people in Scotland with confirmed H1N1 continue to show mild symptoms.
"While the focus in the early stages of the outbreak has been primarily on containment we are now moving to a point where we are now seeing increased community transmissions. We're now looking ahead to a situation where local health boards will proceed on a flexible basis according to the situation in their specific board areas.
"However, I would like to stress that simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and the single use and proper disposal of tissues after coughing or sneezing, are still very important and can play a significant role in helping limit the spread of the virus.
If we all take these simple measures we can play a significant part in helping ease the overall burden on our health professionals as we go forward.
"Scotland is among the best prepared countries in the world to deal with the H1N1 outbreak and we have strong systems in place to deal with and treat any further spread as we work towards rolling out a vaccine in due course."