"Crucial step" taken in fight against swine flu

British scientists have taken a "crucial step" towards creating a vaccine for swine flu, according to health authorities.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that the researchers have created a strain of the virus which can be used to manufacture vaccine.

Drug producers are now able to obtain the strain, which was created at the HPA's National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC).

NIBSC director Dr Stephen Inglis said that his team had been "working round the clock" on the virus.

"The strain is now available for supply to vaccine manufacturers so that they can begin the first steps in the vaccine production process, and to other flu laboratories around the world for research," he added.

There are now more than 200 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK, while roughly 13,000 people across the world have been diagnosed with the virus.

However, in Mexico, where the virus was first reported, authorities have begun to lift restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak, as the number of new cases in the country has dwindled recently.

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