Four people suffering from swine flu are being treated in intensive care wards in hospitals in and around Glasgow tonight.

The four — all aged under 50 — are the only cases in Britain to require intensive care treatment for the H1N1 virus, and are among 88 confirmed cases of swine flu in Scotland. A total of 303 cases have been diagnosed in England, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

The Scottish Government released details today of 23 new cases, all linked to the Argyllshire town of Dunoon. A further 53 possible cases are under investigation north of the Border, including a 26-year-old nurse who became ill while caring for a patient with swine flu.

Procedures for hospital staff are being reinforced in light of the nurse’s case, said Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Health Secretary. Medical personnel treating patients with pneumonia or similar conditions should presume they had the virus, until it was proved otherwise, and wear masks at all times.

“We have seen quite a dramatic increase of the number of cases. That is not unique to Scotland,” said Ms Sturgeon. “We are seeing a rapid increase in cases in other parts of the world. Australia now has more than 500 cases and across the UK more than 400 cases.”

Despite the sharp increase in Scottish figures, hospitalisation rates remained at 6 per cent, which was similar to the US, where the virus has been more widespread. The number of “sporadic cases” – where there was no traceable source — remained relatively low, at around eight or nine people, she added.

“We are not yet at what would be a stage of ‘sustained community transition’,” said Ms Sturgeon.

While it was too early to speculate about the reasons behind the prevalence of swine flu in Scotland, Hugh Pennington, professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said some attention should be focused on underlying health issues. “The health statistics in west central Scotland are bad enough, with high rates of obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking. It is interesting that some observers have highlighted the smoking issue in Mexico as a possible reason for the high number of fatalities there,” said Professor Pennington.

Harry Burns, the chief medical officer in Scotland, said that while smoking might not increase the probability of contracting the virus, it was a reasonable hypothesis that it would make the symptoms considerably worse.

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