Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Swine flu danger has not vanished
5:00pm Thursday 18th February 2010
By James Connell ?
SWINE flu could still return in a more deadly and dangerous form even though the response to the pandemic is now winding down, health chiefs have warned.
People who suspect they are ill with swine flu in Worcestershire and Herefordshire should now contact their GP because the national pandemic flu service (NPFS), set up by the Government, has now been shut down.
They will be prescribed antivirals by their doctor rather than having so-called flu friends pick them up from antiviral collection points which were set up as an emergency measure at the height of the pandemic.
Dr Ashis Banerjee, consultant in public health for NHS Worcestershire, said: ?The number of swine flu cases in Worcestershire is now very low.
The swine flu vaccine will remain available from GP practices to all those who need it until at least the autumn and patients will be contacted by their practice if they are eligible to have the vaccine.
?I urge all eligible patients to get the vaccine now so that they are protected when the flu virus returns, which is likely to be in the autumn or winter, although it?s possible it could be sooner and that the virus may return in a more dangerous form.
?I would also like to thank all the NHS and multi-agency staff who have demonstrated their amazing public service ethos in responding to this pandemic over the last nine months.?
The NPFS was stood down on Thursday, February 11 and both web-based and telephone services have now been discontinued.
Dr Akeem Ali, Herefordshire?s director of public health, said: ?The virus may not be around at the moment but it could come back; it may cause serious illness in individuals in at risk groups with underlying medical conditions and in younger children, and may cause death.
?If that happens, it will be from a vaccine preventable illness.
?It?s vital, therefore, those in at risk groups receive vaccinations to protect them against the illness.?
Bosses in both Worcestershire and Herefordshire are urging the parents of children aged six months to under five years of age to have them vaccinated as they are particularly at a higher risk of developing serious complications if they contract swine flu.
The vaccination programme, launched last September, involved offering it to those aged six months and over in the at-risk groups who had underlying medical conditions.
It was also offered to frontline health and social care workers.
The second phase was launched last December when the the vaccine was offered to children aged between six months and five years. Both phases of the swine flu vaccination programme will continue until September.
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/5015728.Swine_flu_danger_has_not_vanished/?ref=rss
5:00pm Thursday 18th February 2010
By James Connell ?
SWINE flu could still return in a more deadly and dangerous form even though the response to the pandemic is now winding down, health chiefs have warned.
People who suspect they are ill with swine flu in Worcestershire and Herefordshire should now contact their GP because the national pandemic flu service (NPFS), set up by the Government, has now been shut down.
They will be prescribed antivirals by their doctor rather than having so-called flu friends pick them up from antiviral collection points which were set up as an emergency measure at the height of the pandemic.
Dr Ashis Banerjee, consultant in public health for NHS Worcestershire, said: ?The number of swine flu cases in Worcestershire is now very low.
The swine flu vaccine will remain available from GP practices to all those who need it until at least the autumn and patients will be contacted by their practice if they are eligible to have the vaccine.
?I urge all eligible patients to get the vaccine now so that they are protected when the flu virus returns, which is likely to be in the autumn or winter, although it?s possible it could be sooner and that the virus may return in a more dangerous form.
?I would also like to thank all the NHS and multi-agency staff who have demonstrated their amazing public service ethos in responding to this pandemic over the last nine months.?
The NPFS was stood down on Thursday, February 11 and both web-based and telephone services have now been discontinued.
Dr Akeem Ali, Herefordshire?s director of public health, said: ?The virus may not be around at the moment but it could come back; it may cause serious illness in individuals in at risk groups with underlying medical conditions and in younger children, and may cause death.
?If that happens, it will be from a vaccine preventable illness.
?It?s vital, therefore, those in at risk groups receive vaccinations to protect them against the illness.?
Bosses in both Worcestershire and Herefordshire are urging the parents of children aged six months to under five years of age to have them vaccinated as they are particularly at a higher risk of developing serious complications if they contract swine flu.
The vaccination programme, launched last September, involved offering it to those aged six months and over in the at-risk groups who had underlying medical conditions.
It was also offered to frontline health and social care workers.
The second phase was launched last December when the the vaccine was offered to children aged between six months and five years. Both phases of the swine flu vaccination programme will continue until September.
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/5015728.Swine_flu_danger_has_not_vanished/?ref=rss