Two die after contracting swine flu in Scotland

Two more people have died after contracting swine flu, the Scottish Government has said.

The patients, a 48-year-old man from Greater Glasgow and Clyde and an 81-year-old Fife woman both had the H1N1 strain.

The man had "significant underlying health conditions" that contributed to his death while H1N1 was a "contributory factor" in the death of the pensioner.

Risk factors include heart and lung problems, and diabetes. Only one of those to die in Scotland – Bill Anderson, 53, from Fife – did not have underlying health issues.

The deaths follow the release of figures last week which showed the numbers of people admitted to hospital with the virus has reached a record high.

There were 36 new hospital admissions last week, the largest weekly intake since the outbreak began.

Estimates suggest that around 6,800 people caught the H1N1 virus last week, down from almost 13,800 the previous week.