HEALTH officials urged Oxfordshire residents not to panic after it emerged that a six-year-old girl had fallen ill with swine flu.

The girl, who is thought to be the youngest person in the UK to contract the illness, was said to have made a full recovery after treatment with anti-viral drugs.

She became infected while on holiday with her family in Mexico – where the outbreak started.

Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust last night refused to say which school the child attended, but insisted there was no risk to fellow pupils nor to staff.

It also maintained that the school would not be closed.

A spokesman said: “We, as an NHS organisation, have to maintain patient confidentiality for the child.

“As we are assured that there is no risk to teachers or pupils at the school, because the girl did not present with any symptoms while at school and would not have been infectious, we will not be releasing the name of the school.”

However, the trust also suggested that it would contact parents of children at the school to inform them about the girl’s condition. Dr Eamonn O’Moore, the interim director and consultant in communicable disease control for the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit, said that the girl from Oxfordshire who had fallen ill had been to Mexico for a holiday.

He said: “The family returned from holiday roughly a week ago.

“She returned to school for one day, during which she didn’t exhibit any of the symptoms. As soon as she began to exhibit the symptoms, because her parents were very sensible, they took the step of contacting the NHS out-of-hours service, and they contacted us.

“Following national advice, as the girl did not present with any symptoms while at school and would not have been infectious, no follow-up is recommended for the pupils or staff.”

Dr O’Moore confirmed that the girl’s family had also been tested for swine flu but were well and were not currently exhibiting symptoms.

Meanwhile, Dr Jonathan McWilliam, director of public health in Oxfordshire, said: “There are doctors from the Health Protection Agency who are in contact with the families of school pupils.

“The message is not to panic. The level of disease in the UK is currently very low and we are well placed to respond to any emerging cases.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s chief executive Joanna Simons said: “Our thoughts are with the family.

“The health authorities say the school and family involved should not be named for reasons of basic patient confidentiality.”

Elsewhere, pupils at South Hampstead High School, in London, were yesterday told it would remain closed until Thursday, after a 14-year-old pupil, who had also been on holiday in Mexico, contracted the illness.

So far, there have been confirmed cases of swine flu in 19 countries. Twenty-seven people in the UK have been found to have the illness but no-one has died in Britain.