Highgate swine flu girl Natasha Newman is 'a little better'
The 16-year-old is on a life support machine at a hospital in Greece after falling ill with swine flu while on holiday, but a doctor has revealed her condition has improved
3 August 2009
A SCHOOLGIRL from north London who is being treated in Greece for swine flu is “a little better”, doctors have said.
Natasha Newman, 16, from Highgate, is on a life support machine in an Athens hospital after falling ill during a holiday on the island of Kefalonia.
Doctors at the intensive care unit of Penteli Children's Hospital described her condition as serious but stable.
One doctor, who did not wish to be named, said: "She has better lung function than yesterday and the day before. She has pneumonia, which is not something easy, but she has no lasting damage to her lungs and she is not in a dangerous condition."
Natasha, who the doctor said had no underlying health problems, was awake but not talking.
She was put on a life support machine as soon as she was admitted to hospital, the doctor said.
"She needs help to breathe but she is not on any other support machines," she added. "We gave her Tamiflu as soon as she came in, as well as antibiotics."
Her parents, Julian Newman and Nikki Boughton, are with her.
Natasha, a music enthusiast, was sitting her GCSEs at Gordonstoun public school in Elgin, Scotland, the same school attended by Prince Charles.
Greek doctors said last week that the teenager contracted the illness in the UK but did not seek treatment until her symptoms became critical.
The confirmed death total linked to the virus for England is 27.
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