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London student fighting swine flu ‘in a bad way’
Sophie Goodchild1 May 2009
A 22-year-old London man with swine flu was today “in a bad way” in hospital.
The student, the first person in the capital diagnosed with the virus, had been on holiday with friends to Cancun in Mexico.
Health chiefs said on Wednesday the man from Barnet, who has not been named, was only suffering “mild” flu-like symptoms.
But today his spokesman revealed the 22-year-old patient at the Royal Free hospital is now experiencing severe sickness and vomiting.
Agent Max Clifford told the Evening Standard: “He's in a bad way at the Royal Free and is suffering from awful sickness and vomiting. It's not good news.”
Another victim was also today severely ill with sickness and vomiting.
Birthday celebrations for newlywed Dawn Askham, who is 25 today, have been put on hold until she feels better.
Mr Clifford said Mrs Askham, from Falkirk in Scotland, has spent the night vomiting and is suffering from aching limbs so friends and family have been told to stay away.
The news comes as doctors await the results of tests on the first Briton suspected of being infected by human-to-human transmission of swine flu.
NHS worker Graeme Pacitti, 24, has been quarantined at home after falling ill following a night out with Dawn's husband Iain Askham, who was the first British man to contract the virus.
Tests will confirm today if Mr Pacitti also has the virus but Scottish health minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “probable” the flu had passed between him and his friend.
Until now, all eight confirmed British cases originated in Mexico and this latest development could prompt the World Health Organisation to declare a full scale pandemic.
A positive result would be the second case of human-to-human transmission of the virus in Europe. A man in Spain went down with the illness earlier this week although he had not been to the infected area in Mexico.
Health experts fear Mr Pacitti became infected when he met up for a drink with Mr Askham — who did not know he had the virus — last week. Mr Askham, who was discharged from hospital yesterday, said: “We feel guilty that we could have infected our close family and friends and put their lives at risk.”
The honeymooner also revealed how he feared he would die from the virus which the couple believe they caught from other passengers on the eight-hour flight from Cancun to Britain.
He said: “We were shocked when they told us we had the virus. We knew that people in Mexico were dying. You try and stay calm, but at the back of your mind there is the possibility you might die.”
A total of 230 suspected cases in the UK are being investigated so far with eight people now diagnosed in Britain including two cases in London.
The virus has also now been found in the Netherlands and Switzerland as well as Peru.
The virus is currently largely affecting young people.
This is because as we grow older, we come into contact with flu viruses and build up basic immunity to them.
Scientists confirmed it could take up to five months for an anti-flu vaccine to be ready.
A team of 20 experts is working round the clock at a special laboratory in Mill Hill to develop a jab.
Reader views (29)
I am glad I don't work for WHO, because there are only 2 outcomes
1) the infection is contained and then everyone says they overreacted
2) the infection breaks loose and eveyone says they were incompetent
- Jd, copenhagen, dk, 04/05/2009 21:52
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I guess Mexico is off my vacation plans for this year...
- Brandon Thomas, SW7, London UK, 04/05/2009 14:28
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A 22 year old man is really suffering blah blah blah. His agent, yes his agent Max Clifford, christ where will this man not go,
- Steve M, LONDON, 04/05/2009 13:08
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its all scare mongering 18 people have got it no one dead and the government just want us to worry THE IS SIXTY MILLION PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY so lets forget about it
- Steven, TOTTENHAM N17, 04/05/2009 12:07
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I am just leaving Toulouse and getting back in 3 days time. I will be taking 6 flights. I went to a French Chemist and asked if I could purchase 10 masks...the answer is NO. They are all reserved for French hospitals. So I will be in contact with people from 6 countries with no protection...and Roseline our Minister of Health thinks she is doing the right thing...luckily she thinks that. because in fact she is asking me to bring back Mexican flu to France!
- Terry. B, Toulouse, France, 02/05/2009 14:45
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Leave it to Mexico to produce something so nasty. Meanwhile, all the Mexican illegals are living here for free and complaining about it!
- Er, Southern California, US, 01/05/2009 21:24
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The UK government did a really fine job, didn't it, dealing with the people arriving from Mexico! What a useless lot.
- Ben Adamson, New York, NY, 01/05/2009 19:39
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It's probably affecting young people because so many of them are weak because of their life-styles and eating habits. What a shame! I am sure Brown, in particular, and other scumbag leaders would like it to carry off all the older people who, after all, are a "burden" on society.
- Judith C, London, UK, 01/05/2009 19:13
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Obviously there is no more this parasite can milk out of the Jade story. As for the student, I hope that he makes a full recovery, including his common sense.
- Beatriz, London, 01/05/2009 16:57
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Why are people having a go at Max Clifford? He is well known for doing what he does and has every right to earn his living in a free society from what he does best. Yes, these people coming back from Mexico should have been quarantined for a reasonable amount of time, say two months, including those showing no symptoms. Then we could have been sure that this country would not be infected by foreign viruses.
- Bill, Basingstoke, 01/05/2009 16:55
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It does sound serious. Has this man's 'swine flu' developed into 'man flu'?
- George, London, 01/05/2009 16:42
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A more cynical person than myself might suggest that this mans flu symptoms are being somewhat exagerated in anticipation of the 'my swine flu hell' story which Mr Clifford will be touting round the Tabloids once he's feeling a bit better.
!) grand or 20 grand - how much will you pay??
- Paul, London, 01/05/2009 16:38
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Dan Stewart, I see then that you must have been exposed to the dreaded 'Max', or is Crouch End not symptomatic of the infection. Thank you for your comment, it's brightened up my weekend #another Max symptom# already.
- Al, Kingstown UK, 01/05/2009 16:31
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Thanks Sarah, London. The first ten lines of reassuring information to be written on swine flu. You answered my comment before I'd written it. Er, shouldn't you have an agent, or is it because you talk sense Max won't want to know you will he.
- Al, Kingstown UK, 01/05/2009 16:14
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First thought-money-even at death's door?
- K, london, 01/05/2009 16:13
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@Al from Kingstown
A sort of bug or parasite, Max Clifford very often accompanies serious illnesses such as influenza. Victims of Max Clifford have noted symptoms such as vomiting, diarreah, and extreme nausea. Members of the public who think they might have been exposed to Max Clifford are advised to seek medical treatment immediately, as Max Clifford can lead to extreme sickness and/or death.
- Dan Stewart, Crouch End, London, 01/05/2009 15:48
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what in God's name does max clifford have to do with this / flu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ???????????
so the next thing is that mrs miggins will ask him to be agent to her hip replacement and baby p's parents will be bringing him in to deal with severe nappy rash ......
is there no end to what this irritating little man will dirty his hands in ?
- B.A.D. Flue, London, 01/05/2009 15:46
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The safest thing to have done would simply have been to set up a quarantine facility for all passengers coming from flights originating in Mexico (including via other countries) and keep them there until they recovered or it was determined to be more serious so that further action could be taken. By not doing so, the risk has been opened up immensely. You couldn't have done anything about the initial flight, but at least the risk of spreading would have minimised. Now that's foresight and planning, not this WHO/international double dog-dare crap where govt's are saying it's ok, nothing to worry about, until there is something to worry about.
- 888, Kent, 01/05/2009 15:45
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Wouldn't it be awful if Max Clifford caught the flu from his client? And who would Max appoint from his sickbed as his own agent to keep a traumatised nation up-to-speed?
- Waldo, London, 01/05/2009 15:38
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Terribly ill in hopsital and yet havethe time to appoint Max Clifford - who clearly is a trained medical professional who seems to know more than the hospital. The sooner that the media ignore anyhting that man does the better - lets have some real news please - not 'celebrity' type drivel that Max Clifford hawks around
- Heather, London, 01/05/2009 15:33
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"Agent Max Clifford"?! Good God! Where do this man's priorities lie? He may well be on death's door, but he's decided to engage a PR agent???!!! Sign of our times.
- Nikcholerton, London, 01/05/2009 15:19
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So here we have a student suffering from swine flu and, if I am reading this correctly,one of the first things he did was appoint an agent. Er, when did Max Clifford become a medical expert? 'It's not good news' says Max, who is right, he wouldn't be interested in it if it wasn't. This would appear to be the very macabre end of the celebrity culture that we now appear to live in. So much for general information on how to treat the symptoms!
- Al, Kingstown UK, 01/05/2009 15:11
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The hospital says he has “mild” flu-like symptoms.
His agent (a hospital patent with an AGENT?) says “He's in a bad way… suffering from awful sickness and vomiting. It's not good news.”
This would have nothing to do with jacking up this guy’s “exclusive story” price tag, would it Max?
I’m sure you’re a more reliable source of info than the hospital…
- Peter Cox, London UK, 01/05/2009 15:07
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Many common strains of flu affect the very young and the, ahem, elderly, because of their weaker immune systems. more worrying strains of flu - and often they tend to be pandemic strains - carry an unusual NS1 protein that provokes a 'cytokine storm' where the patient's immune system overreacts and kills them. when healthy young people aged 20-45 die from flu, such 'cytokine storms' are often the reason.
It's heartening at least that preliminary DNA sequencing of the novel strain from Mexico seems to show it's a fairly mild variety, and doesn't have any worrying NS1 anomalies. at least not yet.
- Sarah, london, 01/05/2009 15:03
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Please can someone explain what his agent "Max Clifford" is doing in this story ?
- Michael, Switzerland, 01/05/2009 14:52
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How come this is called a "pandemic"? Why haven't we got a pandemic of people catching MRSA in hospital? There's far more of them than these few who have not even died of swine flu. Seems more like deliberately whipped up mass hysteria to me. Why, I wonder?
- Judith C, London, UK, 01/05/2009 13:28
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Any chance of introducing New Labour to Mr Pacitti so they can be put into a state of health where they are inapable of damaging Britain any further?
- Paul, London, 01/05/2009 11:47
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Whilst I don't imagine for a minute the airlines will do anything about it - surely one way to help reduce the risk of spreading these infections worldwide is for airlines to replace rather than recycle the air in the cabins. Recycling the air means that travellers throughout the plane are at risk of contamination rather than those sitting immediately next to the infected traveller!
- Andy, london, 01/05/2009 11:16
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With friends like that who needs enemies!Selfish pig.
- Steve, London, 01/05/2009 10:02
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