Swine flu - update for Bupa members
Pandemic declaration
At 17:11GMT, Thursday 11 June 2009, the Director-General of the WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, announced that the influenza pandemic alert status was being raised from level five to six. This means a pandemic of influenza A(H1N1) (colloquially known as swine flu) has been declared. This action was taken because of the confirmation of sustained human-to-human transmission in two geographic areas (North America and Australasia).
However, the WHO stressed that the rise in alert level indicates an increase in the number of cases of the disease and how effectively it is spreading - it is not a sign that the virus has become more severe. The majority of cases of the disease so far have been mild and patients have responded positively to antiviral treatment. Many infected people have recovered without the need for hospital treatment or even medicines.
At the time of writing, the number of cases in the UK is about 822. There have been no deaths. Worldwide there have been cases in about 74 countries, but deaths have been reported in only 6 of these. The highest death rate seems to be in cases in the Americas, in particular Mexico where the infection started. It seems that currently the infection is not as severe as once feared.
Nonetheless, it seems that the infection is most common in people under 60 and many of the UK cases are children. If the pandemic becomes more prevalent in this country, as seems inevitable, then it will be members of the working population who are most likely to become ill and miss time from work either through illness or through being a carer. It is thus important that people take sensible precautions to minimise their chance of developing the infection.
The best advice for everyone to reduce the risk of infection is still:
- stay at home if you have symptoms of the flu: don't go to work, don't visit your GP but call them or NHS Direct for advice
- cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and use a tissue when possible
- dispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefully
- maintain good basic hygiene, for example, washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people
- clean hard surfaces (eg door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product
- make sure your children follow this advice
View the Bupa video on how to wash your hands effectively. This is designed as advice for people visiting hospital, but the advice is applicable anywhere.
However at this time there are no major changes in UK planning and precautions.
The Health Protection Agency advice is constantly updated:
www.hpa.org.uk
The Department of Health also carries current advice:
www.dh.gov.uk
Information will also be available on:
www.bupa.co.uk