Scottish couple gets swine flu on honeymoon

LONDON – They went to Mexico for their honeymoon, they came back with swine flu.

A Scottish couple who are Britain's first confirmed cases of swine flu had just returned from their Mexican honeymoon, neighbors confirmed Tuesday.

Dawn and Iain Askham became ill over the weekend, a few days after returning from Cancun. On Monday, health authorities said they had tested positive for the swine flu virus that is suspected of causing more than 150 deaths in Mexico.

The couple were being treated in isolation in a hospital in Airdrie, between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon says they are recovering well.

"She's doing OK. She's getting better," said Dawn Askham's father, Brian Colston.

Neighbors of the Askhams said a paramedic had been seen on the street Saturday.

"They were in Mexico for their honeymoon," said Rachel Anderson, who lives across the road from the couple in the town of Polmont. "It is a shame for them, and I feel for their family. They will be very worried."

Britain's Foreign Office has warned residents to postpone nonessential travel to Mexico.

Travel companies have begun canceling flights to Mexico and are preparing to repatriate British citizens there on vacation.

Holiday tour operator Thomas Cook canceled all holidays to Cancun for the next seven days, and Thomson Holidays said they would not operate any more flights to Mexico until the Foreign Office changed its travel advice.

But British Airways said it would continue to operate flights as normal to Mexico City, the airline's only destination in the country, though it was offering travelers the chance to rebook without extra change charges.

In Warsaw, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said "all the urgent action that is necessary" would be taken to stop the spread of the virus.

Brown urged people to consult a doctor if they have health concerns but stressed that Britain is "among the best prepared countries in the world" to fight the spread of the disease.

Britain is holding an emergency government meeting on the issue later Tuesday.