FLU: TOUGHEST TEST FOR A GENERATION; Health chief warning as virus girl, 15, dies.

Byline: EMILY COOK

SWINE flu poses the biggest challenge for the NHS in a generation, the chief medical officer warned yesterday.

Sir Liam Donaldson's alert came as a 15-year-old girl last night became the 30th person in the UK to die after contracting the virus.

And Sir Liam said the pandemic was going to get worse over coming months to present a real test for everyone in the health service.

He explained: "Dealing with this will be a marathon and not a sprint.

"That might involve cancelling some routine procedures but if that is necessary to treat people who are seriously ill with flu then that is what will have to be done."

Under contingency plans, non-emergency operations can be cancelled and GPs moved around the country to help cope with flu hotspots.

The girl who died had underlying medical conditions, said health leaders in Scotland.

The teenager, who was in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, is the fourth person with swine flu to have died in Scotland. Scottish Health Secre-tary Nicola Sturgeon said: "As we have seen in previous cases, this patient was suffering from underlying health conditions and her death should not cause alarm."

Health officials also revealed yesterday that a six-year-old girl with swine flu died of septic shock following a bout of tonsillitis.

Chloe Buckley, from West London, died on July 9. It is not clear to what extent the virus contributed to her death.

Sir Liam spoke after 55,000 new cases emerged in the past week, with every region but Yorkshire and the Humber reporting "exceptional" demands on services.

But ministers ruled out closing schools in the autumn to stop the virus spreading, with Sir Liam saying the move would have a disruptive effect on society while experience proved it achieved little.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said: "Now that the virus is established in the community, expert advice is that there is no longer a strong case for closing schools to contain the spread of infection."

But he added: "We will review the evidence in late August."

Beijing clears Brit students

A BRITISH school party quarantined in China was released yesterday.

The 21 pupils and two staff were kept at a hotel in Beijing after a swine flu outbreak.

George Edge, 14, from the school in Islington, North London, said: "Hopefully we can finish our trip now."

Eight other British youths are being treated in Beijing.

By-election's Chris treated

LABOUR'S candidate in tomorrow's Norwich North byelection was discharged from hospital yesterday after swine flu treatment.

Chris Ostrowski, 28, suffered a collapse at home.

A spokesman said: "He got excellent care at the Norfolk and Norwich".

THE REALITY..

Number of UK suspected cases: 85,000

Number of deaths: 30

THE HYSTERIA..

Source: Health Protection Agency

CAPTION(S):

WOE Sick Kids Hospital, Glasgow QUARANTINE Pupils yesterday COLLAPSE Ostrowski FEARS Young foreign students protect themselves with flu masks at Tottenham Court Road Tube in London yesterday