TWO new confirmed cases of swine flu virus were confirmed this afternoon in England by the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) laboratories.

The new cases are an adult in the North West and a six-year-old child in Oxfordshire.

Both confirmed cases are associated with travel to Mexico.

Professor John Newton, regional director of public health at the NHS South Central Strategic Health Authority said that the young girl was treated and isolated soon after her return and is making "a good recovery at home".

The case in the North West involved an adult in Merseyside - the husband of a woman already diagnosed.

The Merseyside couple were being treated at home and are "quite well", added the HPA.

That brings the total to 15 confirmed cases in the UK with 631 cases currently undergoing laboratory tests.

Of the 15, 12 are in England - with people affected in Newcastle, London, Merseyside, Devon, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire - and three in Scotland.

All those in this country appear to be suffering only mild symptoms.

An HPA spokeswoman told The Northern Echo today that there were no further confirmed cases in the North-East or North Yorkshire.

So far, just one person in the region has been confirmed as having contracted the virus on April 30.

The woman, who had recently returned from Mexico, shared a house with two Newcastle University students living off-campus in the city.

The HPA said this afternoon that it is working to ensure any close contacts of patients testing positive for swine influenza are offered antivirals as a precautionary measure.

Close contacts are defined as people exposed to a probable or confirmed case within the previous seven days for longer than an hour and within a distance of one metre or less.

Following thorough risk assessment, it said, no school closure is necessary in relation to the South East case as the child did not exhibit symptoms while attending school.

Advice remains that individuals returning from affected areas who become unwell within seven days of their return should stay at home and contact their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.