A 15-year-old girl with swine flu has died in a Glasgow hospital, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
The girl, who had underlying medical conditions, is the fourth person with swine flu to have died in Scotland and the 30th in the UK.
News came after Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said school closures in the autumn to curb the number of swine flu infections were unlikely.
Sir Liam said the possibility of school closures would be kept under review but in past experience - such as in the West Midlands - this had not been effective at controlling the virus.
He was speaking as ministers were asked to consider closing schools this autumn to help curb the number of swine flu infections.
"I think it would take a lot for us to move in that direction, it would be extremely disruptive to society - when would you open them again, given that flu might be around for several months," he said. "If we look at what we did in the West Midlands for example, where we did very aggressively initially close schools, treat people with Tamiflu who didn't have symptoms but were contacts of cases, eventually it broke out of the box and spread more widely.
"I think we will obviously keep all of these things under review as we do with any scientific advice, but at the moment I think it is unlikely."
As the number of cases are predicted to soar as the school holidays come to an end, two infection experts have argued that a school closure programme could "break the chains of transmission" and buy time to produce a vaccine.
Professor Neil Ferguson and Dr Simon Cauchemez, from the department of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London, also cited studies showing that closing schools at the height of a flu pandemic could cut the number of cases by up to 45%.
"The (swine flu) pandemic could become more severe, and so the current cautious approach of not necessarily recommending school closure in Europe and North America might need reappraisal in the autumn."
The scientists quoted a recent French study which suggested that "proactively" closing schools could reduce flu cases by 13% to 17% overall, and by between 38% and 45% during the outbreak's peak.
What are the symptoms? What to do if you have them?
The Health Protection Agency defines the symptoms of swine influenza as similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza infection.
They include fever, fatigue, lack of appetite, coughing and sore throat. Some people with swine flu have also reported vomiting and diarrhoea.
If you feel unwell with flu like symptoms:
To avoid the spread of infection, DO NOT leave your home.
Contact your GP by PHONE or seek advice from NHS Direct (0845 4647)
Inform your employer as soon as possible.
Prevent spread of infection:
General infection control practices and good respiratory hand hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes:
Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible.
Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.
Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people.
Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product.
Make sure your children follow this advice.
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