A sixth person in Kent has contracted swine flu -the east and coastal Kent primary care trust has confirmed.

The child, the third to contract the virus in the east of the county, had just returned from a trip to the United States.

The news comes just two days after the fifth Kent case was confirmed and in the same week the World Health Organisation officially declared swine flu as a pandemic.

The fifth case tested positive after returning from abroad and is being treated with antivirals at home.

Their details are being kept a closely guarded secret but they are also thought to be in the east of the county. There are also three confirmed cases in west Kent.
The pandemic is the first of its kind for more than 40 years but it doesn’t mean the virus has become more deadly, just that it has spread on a global scale.

A total of 27,000 people world-wide now have the H1N1 virus, but fewer than one per cent have died from it.

Here in the UK, 822 people have had or are suffering from the virus. Of Kent's five cases, three are from the west of the county and two from the east.

The advice to those who have flu-like symptoms and have recently returned from an area affected by the swine flu virus is to contact their GP or NHS Direct by phone.

The Government has also issued hygiene advice to prevent the spread of the disease.