Schools hit by swine flu

PARENTS are being urged not to panic after it emerged that pupils from four schools in Rochdale are being treated for swine flu.

Eighteen people have been diagnosed with the virus with health chiefs confirming that a ‘small number’ of these patients are children.

Health bosses would not say whether the others affected were parents, staff or teachers. It is still unclear how the children came into contact with the disease, according to a spokesman for the Health Protection Agency.