School shut by swine flu
A school in Wolverhampton was today closed down for a week as it emerged four of its pupils had contracted swine flu.
The children, who attend Holy Trinity Catholic Primary in Bilston, are among 11 sufferers in Wolverhampton revealed today as the number of cases across the UK rose to 2,506.
The youngsters were confirmed to have the illness after staff raised concerns over the high number of absences at the school.
The West Midlands has more than 1,006 people confirmed with swine flu and is the region of England worst affected by the virus.
Medics visited the homes of the Wolverhampton youngsters, aged between four and 11, to take swabs, and the tests were confirmed positive on Friday night.
A treatment programme was today under way at the Fraser Street school after parents were contacted over the weekend. The school closed on the advice of the Health Protection Agency.
Parents were arriving throughout the day to pick up tablets for themselves and their children as well as immediate relatives of children displaying symptoms.
All 258 pupils will get the precautionary treatment.
Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust said today the four sufferers were "very well". Chief executive Jon Crockett said: "We are monitoring the situation closely and ask people to be vigilant to flu signs and symptoms."
Stacey Bell, 31, from Pugh Road, Bradley, is the mother of nine-year old Holy Trinity pupil Callum. She said: "He was off last week but doctors said it was a sickness virus."
Shireland Collegiate Academy in Smethwick shut on Thursday after a pupil was confirmed as having the H1N1 virus.
