As you will be aware, the cases of swine flu (H1N1) are increasing in this country and around the world, and WHO have raised the threat level to Phase 6 which means that a global pandemic is underway. As the number of cases in the UK nears 6000, we wanted to reassure you that the Government is taking preventative action, and also dealing efficiently with the current cases.

UK Strategy

The UK has been preparing for a flu pandemic for a number of years, which means that we already have plenty of precautions in place. Part of the strategy involves administering antiviral treatment to all people with pandemic flu, supporting the NHS in treating complications and severe cases, and issuing further communications to advise the public.

Preparations for a pandemic include the following measures:

• agreements have been signed between the UK Government and vaccine manufacturers to secure supplies of up to 90 million doses of pre-pandemic H1N1 vaccine.
• sufficient stockpiles of antivirals (33.5 million courses) have been accrued to treat 50 per cent of the UK population and orders have been placed to increase this to about 50 million courses, which would be enough to cover 80 per cent of the population
• Order have been placed for 226 million facemasks and 34 million respirators and 15.2 million courses of antibiotics, to be delivered over the coming months
• GPs and hospital emergency departments are being alerted to the latest developments and advised in the appropriate action and treatment, and standard surveillance arrangements for seasonal flu have been stepped up.

You can get more information on swine flu from the following websites:

www.hpa.org.uk, which is updated daily at 3pm, and any new cases are reported there.

The Department of Health website www.dh.gov.uk gives further information on the Govenrment's overall strategic response

Swine Flu information line is 0800 1 513 513.