Latest news(11/02/10)

The National Pandemic Flu Service, set up to offer online and telephone assessments for people worried that they might have swine flu, is to close next week, Gillian Merron, the public health minister, said today.

The number of new swine flu cases has fallen to a point where the service is no longer needed. It will stop offering assessments from February 11.

The service, to assess patients and enable them to get antiviral medicine if needed, was set up in the first wave of the pandemic to ease pressure on GPs and the NHS.

Over the Christmas period, new cases of swine flu in England fell to their lowest level since the early stages of the outbreak.

The Department of Health said today: "Our priority remains to vaccinate those most at risk from swine flu, as people are still in hospital from the virus and sadly some have died.

"This is the first time we have had a vaccine to protect people while a pandemic virus has been circulating, so it has undoubtedly helped us save lives. People who are being vaccinated now may also be protected against swine flu next winter.

"However, given the current welcome reduction in the number of cases, and the need to make sure our response to the pandemic remains proportionate, we have decided to close the National Pandemic Flu Service, including the online and phone self-care service, at 1am on February 11 2010.

"If required we can have the NPFS back up and running in seven days."

If you think you have swine flu symptoms, you should stay at home and contact your GP who will be able to assess you and authorise antivirals if you need them. Your GP will also be able to advise you on vaccination.

The Department of Health has published a leaflet for pregnant women.

Swine flu cases

The latest available figures show that:

•In England, the rate of GP consultations for flu like illness was 12.5 per 100,000 population for the week ending January 31 2010.
•There were then 124 patients in hospital with swine flu in England, 29 of whom were in critical care.
•The Health Protection Agency's overall estimate of the number of cases was below 5,000, where it had been for six weeks.

Swine Flu vaccine
Vaccinations against Swine Flu are ongoing. People in high-risk groups, such as those most at risk from seasonal flu and pregnant women, have been given priority.

Vaccination against Swine Flu is not compulsory, but people in high-risk groups are being strongly advised to have the vaccination.

For more information on the swine flu vaccination programme, follow the link below or download the swine flu vaccination information leaflet.

The following groups will be given priority for the Swine Flu vaccine in this order:

• People aged between six months and under 65 years in the seasonal flu vaccine at-risk groups
• Pregnant women
• People who live with someone whose immune system is compromised (for example, people with cancer or HIV/AIDS)
• People aged 65 and over in the seasonal flu vaccine at-risk groups
  

Your GP will contact you if you fall into one of the at-risk categories.

The GlaxoSmithKline vaccine (Pandemrix) will be offered to the vast majority of these people. It has been licensed and approved by the European regulators. Most people will need only one dose of this vaccine for protection. Other people may be offered the Baxter-manufactured vaccine if this is more appropriate.

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: "This is the first pandemic for which we have had vaccine to protect people. I urge everyone in the priority groups to have the vaccine – it will help prevent people in clinical risk groups from getting Swine Flu and the complications that may arise from it."

More information on the Swine Flu vaccine is available from NHS Choices or by downloading the Swine Flu vaccination information leaflet.

• Download the Swine Flu information leaflet (PDF, 222K) 

What is Swine Flu?

Swine Flu (Influenza A H1N1) 

A new strain of Influenza A (H1N1), also known as Swine Flu, was confirmed in the UK in April and has spread to more than 100 countries around the world.

Although symptoms have generally proved mild, a small number of patients will develop more serious illness.  Many of these people have other underlying health conditions, such as heart or lung disease, that put them at increased risk.

Symptoms

Flu symptoms can include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Headache
• Weakness and fatigue
• Aching muscles and joints
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
  

As with any sort of Influenza, how bad and how long the symptoms last will depend on treatment and the patient’s individual circumstances.

Most cases reported in the UK have been relatively mild, with those affected starting to recover within a week.

Am I At Risk?

Some groups of people are more at risk of serious illness if they catch Swine Flu. It is vital that people in these higher risk groups get anti-viral drugs and start taking them as soon as possible – within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Health authorities are still learning about the Swine Flu virus, but the following people are known to be at higher risk:

• Pregnant women
• People aged 65 years and older
• Young children under five years old
  

People suffering from the following illnesses are also at increased risk:

• Chronic neurological disease
• Chronic heart disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic lung disease
• Immunosuppression (whether caused by disease or treatment)
• Diabetes mellitus
• Patients who have had drug treatment for asthma within the past three years

Swine Flu and Multiple Sclerosis patients

As with any additional illness, in relation to Multiple Sclerosis, if you have any concerns please contact your MS nurse, Neurologist or GP in the first instance.

For people with MS following the Swine Flu prevention and treatment guidelines below will be sufficient, however,  here are some additional MS related information with regards medications which you may find useful.

If you are prescribed corticosteroids (steroids) during an MS relapse, or are taking immunosuppressants such as mitoxantrone,  these can increase the risk of contracting infections, including Swine Flu and it is advised to contact your GP, MS nurse or neurology team if you have any concerns.

If you have Multiple Sclerosis and are taking one of the disease modifying drugs and you contract Swine Flu, you should contact your MS Nurse or Neurology team for further advice.

Swine Flu - Prevention And Treatment

Follow the Department of Health’s advice – Catch It, Bin It, Kill It!

To help prevent the spread of Swine Flu a few basic hygiene measures should be followed:

• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, using a tissue
• Throw the tissue away quickly and carefully
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
• Clean hard surfaces (like door handles and remote controls) frequently with a normal cleaning product

If You Suspect You Have Swine Flu.

You can get more information about flu symptoms from www.nhs.uk and the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513.

If you have severe symptoms which are not like flu you should contact your GP or call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 in England, NHS 24 on 08454 24 24 24 in Scotland or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647, and 0800 0514 142 in Northern Ireland

Prevention

Priority given to those 'most at risk' for Swine Flu vaccination

The priority groups who will be first in line for vaccination against Swine Flu (H1N1) will include pregnant women, frontline health and social care workers, and everyone in at-risk groups aged over six months, Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced today.

This follows advice from independent experts on who should be first in line for vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation reviewed the evidence and advised the Department of Health on the crucial risk groups to be offered vaccination in order to reduce the rate or possibility of serious illness.

This advice was also scrutinised and endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

The following groups will be prioritised in this order (numbers given are approximate and are for England only):

• 1. People aged over six months and under 65 years in current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 5 million people).
• 2. All pregnant women, subject to licensing conditions on trimesters (about 0.5 million people).
• 3. Household contacts of people with compromised immune systems e.g. people in regular close contact with patients on treatment for cancer (about 0.5 million people).
• 4. People aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 3.5 million people). This does not include otherwise healthy over 65s, since they appear to have some natural immunity to the virus.

Treatment

Anti-viral Drugs

Anti-viral drugs, such as Tamiflu, work by preventing the flu virus from reproducing - to be effective you need to take them within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. This means the illness may be shortened and reduce the risk of complications.

Should young children be treated with Tamiflu?
The review that said children should not be treated with Tamiflu was based on seasonal flu and not swine flu.

The authors admitted that it is uncertain how much the findings of that review apply to swine flu. After all, swine flu behaves differently to seasonal flu, and past pandemics have hit younger people hardest.

The Government says that all people suffering from swine flu, including young children, will continue to be offered antivirals.

To keep up to date with the latest news on Swine Flu please visit the DirectGov website.

 You can find out your local authority's preparations for Swine Flu by using the Direct Gov Search Facility.

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