Mass Blood Tests For School Children For Swine Flu

Public health chiefs want to blood test school pupils in a bid to track the swine flu virus as the anticipated second wave of the pandemic approaches.

It is hoped the move would help the health services to more accurately calculate how many people have contracted the virus.

Dr Jim McMenamin of Health Protection Scotland said it would need pupils in only one secondary school to take part.

The tests would be carried out on a voluntary basis.

Dr McMenamin, a consultant epidemiologist, said the health service had traditionally relied on swabs taken from people's noses or throats to calculate the spread of the virus.

However, these are usually only carried out on people who have displayed symptoms of the virus.

Blood testing would allow health professionals to detect people who have developed swine flu but have only very mild or no symptoms - giving a more accurate picture of its spread.

We are proposing that at most one or two Scottish schools, and perhaps a similar number in other parts of the UK, would be asked to volunteer
Dr Jim McMenamin
Health Protection Scotland

Dr McMenamin said this would be particularly important when health professionals are planning for the winter period, when it is important to calculate how many people are likely to have swine flu and how easily it is spread between people.

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "What we are proposing is, to get a better idea of the spread of this infection, that there is a limited opportunity for us to look at a very small number of the school population.

"We are proposing that at most one or two Scottish schools, and perhaps a similar number in other parts of the UK, would be asked to volunteer to take part in an investigation to see if H1N1 [swine flu] is spreading in their particular school.

"We are proposing this because our colleagues in the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, who advise the UK government, have suggested this would be a good way forward for any investigation to add to the knowledge that we have."

Dr McMenamin said children of school age were of particular interest as they were among the most likely to contract the virus.

He stressed that the blood tests, which would only be carried out on secondary school pupils, would not be compulsory, and parents would be asked to give consent.

But he said it was "not clear at the moment" whether any school would want to take part.