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A pregnant woman critically ill with swine flu is being treated in a Swedish hospital because no beds are available in Britain for her rare treatment.
The 26-year-old, from Scotland, needs a specialised procedure which involves adding oxygen to the blood outside the body, but there are only five specialist beds in this country.
All five beds are full, so the woman was flown from Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire to a Stockholm hospital.
It comes after the death of another London patient with swine flu was announced, bringing the total number of deaths in the capital to 11. A 50-year-old man died at Whipps Cross hospital in Leytonstone on 15 July - the same hospital where a pregnant woman died of the virus after giving birth.
Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for London, said: "For the majority of people, swine flu remains a very mild illness and most will recover fully after just a few days without the need for going to their GP or A&E."
Speaking about the Scottish woman, who has not been named, Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "This woman has suffered severe complications and requires urgent and highly specialised treatment."
Latest figures appear to suggest children under the age of 16 are more likely to die from swine flu while older people may have more immunity.
Professor John Oxford, a virologist at Barts and Queen Mary's School of Medicine, said: "It is not too much to expect elderly people infected in the 1950s or before to have some strong immunological memory, which has given them some protection."
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said one third of the "fully investigated" swine flu deaths had been in children under the age of 16, while that age group accounts for just 19 per cent of the population.
The number of fully investigated deaths is not being released over fears the numbers are so small individual patients could be identified. That means the apparently higher-than-average death rate for children could be based on a very small sample.
There are currently 169 children under the age of five in hospital, with 12 in intensive care. In total 840 people are in hospital with swine flu, and 63 are in critical care. Two further deaths in London are being investigated to see if swine flu played a part.
Dr Tanner added: "If you have flu-like symptoms and are pregnant, very young, over 65 or have long-term conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, it is particularly important that you talk to your doctor to get advice."
