Fears are rife a swine flu virus has been spreading in UK for nearly one month as it has emerged an infected Brit was sick at the start of November.
The patient only took a test by "pure fluke" and, two weeks later, got the result they had the H1N2 swine flu strain. It is a strain never seen in this country before.
The Brit, from North Yorkshire, had been experiencing cold-like symptoms prior to the test on November 9 and was given the assessment through an established winter surveillance scheme. It is understood at no point between the patient being tested and getting their result on November 23 were they made to self-isolate.
As a result, concern is growing the strain has been spreading across the UK. As the Mirror reported this week, amid winter flu season, a rise in typical symptoms such as a continuous cough, and a high temperature and a fever has been seen in the UK recently.
If you’re experiencing these, you need to take efforts to stop the spreading of swine flu, or any other potential infections. This is most simply done by staying home and avoiding contact with other people, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.
But MailOnline reports authorities asked the infected Brit to limit their contacts once the positive swab came back, as per official guidance around this particular virus. The same publication says the sickened Brit does not work with pigs, understand to be original source of the unpleasant strain.
Previous cases of H1N2 — spotted 50 times globally in the last two decades — have been traced back to country fairs in the US. Experts fear it is 'entirely possible' the virus has been silently spreading.
Only a fraction of patients who see their GP with respiratory symptoms, like a runny nose and cough, ever get tested. The surveillance scheme that spotted the H1N2 case only includes under a third of the 6,700-plus surgeries in England and Wales.
Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist from the University of Reading, said: "It is entirely possible that it has been spreading in that time. We don’t know how efficiently or in whom, but if this strain does transmit efficiently in people then it could have begun to spread reasonably widely."