The Ceara Special School located in Lurgan, educates children who have learning difficulties. A new case of swine flu has made the school authorities to send letters to parents advising them to get their wards vaccinated against the H1N1 flu.

The letters were sent by the Public Health Agency (PHA) to these parents' houses which were 106 in number for every child at school and stated therein that there is a chance of `sporadic' outbreaks in the next few weeks and these children from the Ceara Special School should be taken to their GPs to get the flu shots.

From the Portadowwn area alone there are about 30-40 children from this school who are catered for by their institution. Dr Brian Smyth had signed these letters and he said that he was not expecting the virus to spread to these numbers where 20 people lost their lives previous year.

One parent of a child at the Ceara Special School said, "Our child reacts serious to any illness and has been in hospital a number of times. We have been told that the pupil in Ceara is in hospital, but there is no indication so far whether he or she is from the Portadown or Lurgan area which Ceara serves."