Health Secretary: Keep swine flu deaths in perspective

Health Secretary Andy Burnham sought to reassure worried parents today following the death of a six-year-old girl who contracted swine flu.

Mr Burnham said the death of Chloe Buckley, from West Drayton, west London, was a "tragedy" but "lots of children" had suffered from swine flu and had made a full recovery.

"People do need to keep it in perspective - lots of children have already had swine flu and have made a very quick recovery and, obviously, in the early stages we saw lots of school closures," he told GMTV.

"There have been lots of children already having the condition but making a very quick and full recovery.

"We do have to keep it in perspective."

He added that Britain was at the "front of the queue" for supplies of vaccine and would start to receive the first from next month.

"We have made very good plans in this country for this eventuality, for being in this situation, and Britain is at the front of the queue in the world for vaccine. We could not be in a better position.

"So as soon as stocks are made, the very first vaccines will come to this country. We expect to get the first next month."

His remarks were made as further tests were due to take place today to determine the causes of death of Chloe and Bedfordshire GP Dr Michael Day, who both died after contracting swine flu.

Their deaths took the number of UK deaths linked to swine flu to 17.

Yesterday health bodies the British Medical Association (BMA) and the The Royal College of General Practitioners urged the public not to panic.

The Government has ordered enough swine flu vaccine to cover the entire population, with the first doses arriving next month and half of all doses expected by the end of the year.

A list has been drawn up of people who will gain first access to the vaccine, including health workers and patients with conditions like diabetes and asthma.

Chloe died last Thursday at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

A post-mortem is due to be carried out to determine if she had underlying health conditions.

Dr Day died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. A subsequent swab test revealed he had swine flu although it is not yet known if this was the cause of his death.

Chloe was a pupil at St Catherine's School in West Drayton. Last night parents attended a meeting at the school, where staff and council officials attempted to reassure those worried about their children's health.

Grandmother Daphne May, 62, from West Drayton, revealed there had been an air of panic at the meeting.

She said: "People are very worried and upset. We should have been told something sooner."

She added: "Chloe was a beautiful girl, very polite, very petite, but we had heard that she had heart problems."

Chris Spencer, director of education and children's services at Hillingdon Borough Council, confirmed the school would close early for the summer break as a result of Chloe's death.

He said: "It's an exceptional set of circumstances. This is a little girl who, until a few days ago, in all our minds was a child that was perfectly healthy so everybody here is in a deep state of shock and, with just a few days to go until the end of term, we've decided it's in the best interests of all involved."

A statement from NHS East of England said staff wished "to extend their deepest sympathies" to Dr Day's family "as they come to terms with their sad loss".

Dr Day's relatives, practice staff and patients who have been in recent contact with him are being assessed to determine if they have symptoms of swine flu.

If so, they will be offered Tamiflu anti-virals as a precautionary measure.

The first British patient without underlying health problems died on Friday after contracting swine flu. The patient, from Essex, died in Basildon.

Nearly 10,000 Britons have been confirmed with swine flu but hundreds of thousands more are thought to have the virus.

The number of cases is now being estimated as the numbers rise too high for individual patients to be swabbed and counted.

Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: "It is extremely important to remember that swine flu is currently a relatively mild condition in the majority of cases.

"The Royal College of General Practitioners has been working with the Government on robust flu pandemic plans for a number of years and we are confident that the systems we have in place will cope well with the current pandemic."

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs Committee, said: "While these individual deaths are tragedies for the families concerned, it is very important that members of the public do not panic, and continue to follow health advice about swine flu and managing it if they are infected."