Swine flu fears shut two more schools

Two schools in London and the South East closed today after a suspected swine flu outbreak.

Education bosses have shut Castle View School in Essex and fee-paying Hampton School in Richmond after pupils were diagnosed with the virus.

One child 12-year-old Joe Bland has been affected at Castle View and two others are undergoing tests.

Joe fell ill after a family holiday to Mexico and was home for a week before he started showing symptoms.

A local GP carried out tests after the schoolboy's parents contacted NHS Direct.

Two other Year 8 friends had also been on the trip including one who attends another secondary school in the town.

Tests are now being carried out on these children to check if they have the virus.

More than 160 pupils at the secondary school have been given Tamiflu and only those taking GCSEs are allowed into the school.

The parents of 12-year-old Joe said he was only unwell for a short period and was feeling a lot better.'

His mother Louise, 33, said: "I kept him off school for a week after we got back from Mexico as a precaution even though he wasn't showing any symptoms throughout that time.

"I checked with the school before sending him back for the day on Tuesday last week. Unfortunately he came down with the symptoms that night which had started with him saying he had achy legs. He was physically sick overnight and had a high temperature."

"The doctor tested Joe and put him and the rest of the family on the drugs. Thankfully he's a lot better now and it really only affected him for a short period of time."

This follows the closure this week of Hampton School after an 11-year-old boy developed symptoms.

Eleven new cases have also been confirmed at Alleyn's School in Dulwich bringing the number of pupils and staff affected to 21.

The school was still due to reopen today after being shut last week.

Anti-viral drug Tamiflu will be handed out to parents of all Year 7 pupils at Hampton School today (Mon) with a clinic session for students and staff who may have come into contact with the pupil. He is recovering well at home.

Students from the neighbouring girls' school, Lady Eleanor Holles, were also being treated as they may have shared bus journeys with the infected boy.

Tests are expected to confirm today whether the boy's strain of influenza is swine flu. He became ill after returning from New York. Pupils were sent home on Friday from the independent boys' school in south-west London with letters advising parents of the closure and the appropriate measures to take.

The letter, signed by acting headteacher Phillipa Message, reads: "There is nothing the school can do at present to prevent an outbreak of swine fever [sic] but we should like to reassure parents that we are prepared and have a course of action that can be activated if necessary."

Exams are due to start at the school this week and pupils have been told not to gather in groups before or afterwards.

Six more Alleyn's pupils were confirmed to have swine flu on Saturday. Another four and one adult were confirmed yesterday.

Last week there were outbreaks at Dolphin School in Battersea and at South Hampstead High School.

A 50-year-old Westminster man was also confirmed at the weekend as having the virus, taking the total of UK cases to 55.

The Department of Health said all the cases had been mild.