Five new UK flu cases confirmed

Tamiflu has been given to pupils and staff at Alleyn's School

Four children and one adult, all linked to the same school, have been diagnosed with swine flu, taking the total number of cases in the UK to 39.

The affected school - Alleyn's in Dulwich, south-east London - has already seen six pupils diagnosed with the H1N1 virus earlier this week.

All 1,200 pupils as well as staff have already been given Tamiflu antiviral drugs and the school has been closed.

More than 400 people in the UK are currently being tested for the virus.

In a statement, the Health Protection Agency said of the latest cases: "All patients are recovering at home.

"Close contacts of these cases are receiving antivirals as a precautionary measure."

We don't want to take any risks with children at this stage when we don't know enough about the disease Sir Liam Donaldson, England's Chief Medical Officer Obama urges caution on swine flu

The Department of Health added that so far, all infections in the UK have been mild, and cases have been diagnosed and treated early.

England's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has defended the policy of closing schools after criticism that the government was overreacting to an infection that appeared to be less dangerous than originally feared.

"We don't want to take any risks with children at this stage when we don't know enough about the disease," he said on Thursday.

Earlier it emerged that British researchers have unravelled the first genetic code of swine flu from European samples.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson described the work as a "significant step".

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