CASES of swine flu have been confirmed at three more East Lancashire schools.

Darwen Vale and Pleckgate High are the latest in Blackburn with Darwen to have someone contract the virus.

And two pupils at Helmshore Primary School are also recovering at home after being diagnosed with the illness.

Darwen Vale said letters had been sent home to parents but refused to say whether it was a pupil or a teacher.

Coun Chris Thayne, executive member for children’s services, said: “The council is working with a wide range of providers and public services to identify and treat members of the public who are showing symptoms of flu.”

Governmental advice is that if a schoolchild, teacher or parent is diagnosed with swine flu, they should stay at home until completely recovered and for at least seven days.

Family members who have no symptoms, should go to school or work as normal.

However, if they start to develop symptoms they should phone their GP or NHS Direct for advice.

Hugh Lamont, of the Health Protection Agency, said: “We have stopped doing laboratory tests routinely on all suspected cases and are now relying on the clinical judgment of GPs.”

He said it was inevitable that there will be more GP-diagnosed cases than there were laboratory-confirmed cases.