 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Swine flu surge forces Britain to shift strategy
London (AFP) July 1, 2009 Britain has abandoned efforts to prevent the spread of swine flu after an explosion of infections lifted the number of cases to nearly 7,000, focusing its resources instead on vulnerable patients. With hundreds of new cases of the A(H1N1) virus confirmed every day and three deaths, the virus is spreading faster in Britain than in any other European country. Prime Minister Gordon Brown underlined the new approach Wednesday, saying that following a surge of more than 2,200 cases in the past week, a "more flexible and local approach" would now be used in high-infection areas. In London, the West Midlands region including the city of Birmingham and in Glasgow, the government is discarding its policy of trying to prevent the virus spreading by tracking down everyone who has come into contact with sufferers. "In the first few weeks, attempts were made to contain the infection, schools were closed, (the anti-flu drug) Tamiflu was distributed, everything was done to try to stop the virus spreading," said John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary University of London. "There was some evidence that that was working, but now there are so many schools affected, and not enough manpower to go out to these schools and give Tamiflu. "The strategy now will be to concentrate the effort on the people who are most seriously ill, such as obese people or people with asthma or some kind of breathing problem." The people who have died in Britain after contracting swine flu -- 38-year-old Jacqueline Fleming, a 73-year-old man and a schoolgirl whose age has not been revealed -- all had "underlying health problems" leaving them vulnerable. For most people who contract the virus, however, the symptoms have been mild and accordingly the new British approach means anyone presenting the symptoms does not automatically have to see a doctor for diagnosis. As Richard Jarvis, chairman of the public health medicine committee of the British Medical Association, explains: "In this treatment phase, anybody who presents the symptoms... will be deemed to have swine flu, they won't need to have a laboratory diagnosis." Instead, people who believe they have swine flu call a special helpline and if the symptoms they describe are suitably serious, they are prescribed Tamiflu, which is picked up for them by a friend or relative, cheerfully nicknamed a "flu buddy" by the authorities. "The hope is that this system will cut out the GP (general practitioner, or local doctor) altogether so that they will be able to devote themselves to people with complications," Jarvis said. Experts agree that while the flu is spreading fast in Britain, it is milder than feared -- but the challenge will come later this year when colder and wetter weather ushers in the traditional flu season. Hugh Pennington, professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, said: "For most people the symptoms are being very mild and the government is being quite pragmatic. "We've got a pandemic but it's not the pandemic we feared. The big test will be in the winter." England's Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson even went as far as to predict "tens of thousands" of cases every week were a possibility by the autumn. It is still unclear why the spread of A(H1N1) has been faster in Britain than in similarly densely-populated European countries. One possible explanation is the high number of Britons who returned from holidays in Mexico at exactly the moment when the virus broke out. While Britain is stockpiling millions of packets of Tamiflu ready for a wider outbreak, Donaldson has warned people not to take the matter into their own hands, among unconfirmed reports of parents holding "swine flu parties". The idea of these is to try and make children catch the virus now in the hope of immunising themselves against it later. Donaldson said: "We would never recommend intentionally exposing anyone to swine flu. "It is seriously flawed thinking to allow the virus to spread unabated through 'swine flu parties'... "We don't yet know enough about the risk profile of the virus, and whilst it has generally been mild in the UK, in some parts of the world, young previously healthy adults have died." Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola
Spanish flu created a viral dynasty: studyWashington (AFP) June 29, 2009 The virus responsible for the Spanish flu in 1918 created a viral dynasty that persists today, according to a study published Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. Not only did the Spanish flu's H1N1 virus cause tens of millions of deaths in 1918, it was also transmitted from humans to pigs during the pandemic and continues to evolve today, the authors of the study said. "The ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook