Published: Thursday, 15th October, 2009 2:47pm

Swine flu kills pregnant teenager

A pregnant 17-year-old from the Borders has died after contracting swine flu.

It is understood that the girl, who died in past 24 hours, did not have underlying health problems.

She now has become the 15th person in Scotland to die from swine flu.

And, due to the sudden nature of this death, The Scottish Government has announced a report has gone to the Procurator Fiscal.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The death of this young mother-to-be and her baby is deeply saddening and my thoughts are with her family and friends.

"Medical experts have been telling us that pregnant women are more vulnerable to developing complications after contracting the virus. For this reason, they will be among the priority groups for vaccination when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available later this month.

"I would urge all pregnant women to get vaccinated to ensure the maximum protection for themselves and their babies.

"While there is no evidence to suggest that the virus is becoming any more dangerous for the public at large, this tragic death highlights that some groups are at greater risk and should take up the offer of vaccination."

The latest figures about the incidence of influenza A (H1N1) in Scotland have been published today.

Some 800 GP practices are now supplying surveillance reporting figures, compared to 58 in previous weeks. This allows a more comprehensive picture of consultation rates.

As of October 7, there have been 315 people with influenza A (H1N1) hospitalised since the start of the outbreak. A total of 64 people have required hospital admission in the last week and, as of yesterday, there were 50 in hospital in Scotland. That represents the highest number of weekly admissions to hospital since the outbreak began.

There have been fifteen deaths linked to influenza A (H1N1) since the start of the outbreak.

Although there are increased absence levels currently in a few schools, these instances are localised and do not signal an overall increase in absence levels in schools across Scotland this past week.

Speaking about the weekly reported figures, Ms Sturgeon said: "This week's figures show an increase in the number of people consulting their GP with flu-like symptoms and the number of overall estimated cases.

"Flu epidemics by their very nature are unpredictable and weekly increases and decreases are to be expected. Even if H1N1 continues to be a relatively mild virus for most people affected, its effects on the health service and on the wider community could be highly disruptive and we can not be complacent about the threat presented by the outbreak.

"Hospitalisations continue to increase and this means that it is even more vital that those deemed at risk do all they can to protect themselves.

"Vaccination is the best defence we have against the H1N1 virus and Scotland is preparing very well for the first phase of the vaccination programme which is due to start later this month.

"Anyone who is concerned about flu-like symptoms should continue to contact their GP for advice, or NHS 24 on 08454 24 24 24."