Two swine flu victims 'critical'

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The pair are both being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and include a 45-year-old man who is not thought to have any other underlying health problems.

It came as the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that 61 more people in England were confirmed with swine flu, bringing the total number affected in the UK to 362, and as the WHO said the virus appeared to be taking hold outside of North America.

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths. The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the US, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.

Mr Fukuda said: "Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO's scale, signalling a pandemic - a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6."

The 61 cases confirmed on Tuesday in England are the largest number announced in England in one day, the HPA said. But they are not part of a cluster, a spokesman said.

Regional laboratories have now got the capability to test for swine flu without needing to send samples to a central London lab, which has bumped up the numbers, he added.

The two patients in intensive care are in a "critical but stable" condition, the Scottish Government said. Neither case is linked to any other previously known cluster of swine flu cases.

The 45-year-old man, from Paisley, is believed to be the first case in the UK where someone has been admitted to intensive case without any underlying health conditions. A 38-year-old woman from Glasgow is the other case admitted to intensive care, although she did have previous health issues.

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the development as she announced the total number of confirmed swine flu cases in Scotland had increased by 23 to 65.