Swine flu update UK - July 03, 2009
All Nature’s swine flu coverage is collected on our news special page. These regular updates on The Great Beyond round up the latest from other news sources around the globe.
The UK has decided that it cannot contain swine flu, and has moved its health service onto a treatment footing instead.
Health minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons yesterday that over the last week a “considerable rise” in H1N1 with several hundred new cases every day.
“Cases are doubling every week, and on this trend we could see more than 100,000 cases per day by the end of August—although I stress that that is only a projection,” he said. “As cases continue to rise, we have reached the next step in our management of the disease.”
A fourth person in the country died from the virus today.
The move from containment to treatment means that the UK’s primary care sector will now take the lead in diagnosing and dishing out antiviral drugs, with the national Health Protection Agency taking a step back. GPs will be able to diagnose H1N1 and distribute tamiflu without waiting for lab tests. In addition, the tracing of people who have been in contact with the infected will not be traced.
Meanwhile, citizens have been warned against buying tamiflu online as experts repeat warnings that much of it is likely to be fake. According to GP newspaper Pulse though, even getting it through official sources could be problematic:
Under the new procedures, GPs should diagnose swine flu cases by phone, and patients will then arrange for a ‘flu friend’ to collect a voucher for Tamiflu from GP practices.But Pulse has learned it will be the end of next week at the earliest before GPs can expect delivery of the vouchers from the Department of Health – leaving many GPs facing chaos.
Of course, going by the Pulse columnists, H1N1 doesn’t seem to be something that is overly concerning the UK’s doctors. The pseudonymous ‘Copperfield’ writes:
Oh, I really hate to crow about this but I've just deleted about 70 e-mails from my in-box – all labelled 'Unread' - on the subject of pig flu, swabbing, contract tracing, prophylactic prescribing and all that. Now it's clinical judgement, 'diagnose and treat' time.All I want to know now is what we're going to do with all the out-of-date Tamiflu we'll be stuck with when folk realise that there's no point in making such a big deal out of a relatively benign H1N1 mutation, can't be arsed to organise a Flu Friend with all the attendant proof-of-identity malarkey and settle for a couple of days in bed with some ibuprofen and the TV remote control.
Another, Phil Peverley, wrote in May, “My reaction to the swine flu epidemic is now one of utter, deadening boredom. It seems there is no way of avoiding exposure to it, but for heaven’s sake – it’s just another ruddy virus. It’s not the end of the world.”
Image: Getty
