Suspected flu cases investigated

It is not known where the Bolitho sixth formers contracted the virus

Several more suspected cases of swine flu are being investigated in Cornwall after an outbreak at a school, county health officials say.

Nine pupils at Bolitho School in Penzance have been put into isolation and are on anti-viral medication. Staff and families have also been treated.

Health officials said they were examining some more possible cases in the county.

It is not known if they are connected with the school outbreak.

The sixth-form pupils were diagnosed with the virus after falling ill on 15 June.

They had been on a recent school trip to London, but it is not known if that was where they contracted the virus.

The director of public health for Cornwall, Felicity Owen, said officials in the county were working with colleagues nationally to try to ascertain where the virus came from, but that it might not have necessarily been from the London trip.

She said: "I think probably it is incidental and that it's possible that one or two of the pupils had symptoms before they went.

"We do know that there are 2,000 cases in the country and it may be hard to trace where this originated from.

"What we do know is that we've managed this outbreak effectively with the school and that we've had no other confirmed cases.

"But it is very likely that other people in the area will develop it, either from this outbreak or from other outbreaks in the country."

Sixth-form site

Ms Owen said people should maintain good levels of hygiene to prevent any other cases.

The school has not been closed. The sixth form is on a separate site and the Health Protection Agency said it was unnecessary to close the entire school.

Head teacher David Dobson said the school was working closely with the Health Protection Agency and NHS colleagues to ensure the outbreak was being managed appropriately.

More than 2,200 people have been diagnosed with the virus since April, the Health Protection Agency said.