TWO people with swine flu are being treated in a Lanarkshire hospital.

The patients, who have been diagnosed with the H1N1 strain of influenza more commonly referred to as swine flu, have been admitted to Wishaw General and are being kept under observation.

Swine flu is potentially lethal and in 2009 more than 200 people died from an outbreak in the UK.

Dr Femi Oshin, a consultant in public health medicine at NHS Lanarkshire, urged people to ask their GPs for the free annual vaccine against influenza. She said: “Although there are low levels of influenza overall this winter, H1N1 is reported to be the main flu virus circulating in the community.

“We currently have two patients in Wishaw General Hospital with H1N1.”

Symptoms of swine flu include fever, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing and weakness.