Swine Flu In Leicester

Three wards at Leicester's Royal Infirmary have closed after 14 cancer patients were diagnosed with swine flu.

16:27 19 February 2016

An outbreak of swine flu has forced Leicester's Royal Infirmary to close three of its wards. 14 cancer patients were diagnosed with H1N1 strain of influenza and have been isolated to protect other patients in the hospital.

 

Meanwhile, at the city's Glenfield Hospital, another three people also contracted the virus but are not linked to the cases at the other hospital.

 

Liz Collins, lead nurse for infection prevention, said: "Fourteen patients on three haematology wards at the Leicester Royal Infirmary have developed symptoms that have been confirmed as flu,"

 

"All necessary precautions were taken and these patients have been isolated to avoid an outbreak."

 

Dr Philip Monk, from Public Health England, said that there is no cause for alarm.

 

"It is a normal winter - and swine flu is the normal flu and the number of cases is not that high across the East Midlands," he said.

 

"Obviously, when it gets into a clinical setting where people are very vulnerable then this is a difficult situation to manage. Everything is being done and it is under control."