Nutrition

Swine Flu Media Bulletin Issued At: 11am Friday 12 June 2009, Wales

Spread and extent of the outbreak (information as at 5pm on 11 June) -- 3 confirmed cases in Wales: - A 33 year old female from the Blaenau Gwent local authority area. She has been offered antivirals and is recovering at home. Her illness is related to travel to an affected area. The NPHS has traced close contacts to check if any have flu symptoms and to offer them antiviral medicine. None of the close contacts have flu-like symptoms. Antivirals are offered as treatment to people who are ill and to aid prevention to people who are well but have been in close contact with a case. - A 66 year old female from the Swansea local authority area. She had mild flu symptoms, was offered antivirals and has recovered. - A 31 year old male from the Caerphilly local authority area. He had mild flu symptoms, was offered antivirals and has recovered. -- 0 probable cases in Wales. -- 121 people have been under investigation in Wales. Of these, swine flu has been confirmed in three cases (see above) and ruled out in 108 cases, leaving ten still under investigation. All of these are displaying, or have displayed, mild symptoms. -- Of the ten people under investigation, seven were well when first identified, but reported recent flu-like symptoms following travel to affected areas. Blood tests are being undertaken on these individuals to see if they had the flu and to help the NPHS understand the pattern of the disease from the past. Their symptoms may or may not have been due to swine flu. Testing will be conducted in a number of weeks to check whether these people did have swine flu - scientifically it won"t work before that. Investigations have shown that people they had close contact with did not catch flu from them when they were ill. -- There are now 849 confirmed cases in the UK - three cases in Wales, 337 cases in Scotland, 502 cases in England and seven in Northern Ireland. -- Swine flu cases have been confirmed in 74 countries. For the latest international figures for the spread of swine flu, visit the website of the World Health Organization at www.who.int -- No further details will be confirmed or denied about cases in order to protect their right to confidentiality. Comment from Welsh Assembly Government and National Public Health Service for Wales --Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, said: "We have made it clear all along that there would be cases in Wales and everyone must continue to be vigilant and try to reduce the spread of the virus. "The World Health Organisation"s decision to declare a pandemic is based on what is happening globally with the spread of the virus rather than its severity and does not suggest a sudden shift in the UK situation. "The declaration of Phase 6 does not change the our overall assessment that so far the virus is generally mild in most people, but proving more severe in a small number of cases. "We continue to stress that there will be more cases in Wales as the infection spreads in the community and everyone must continue to be vigilant and try to reduce the spread of the virus. "Our advice to the public remains the same, people should follow good respiratory and hand hygiene to help prevent the spread of influenza - always using a tissue to catch sneezes, throwing away used tissues where germs can linger and killing germs by regularly washing your hands, or cleaning them with a sanitising gel. In short, catch it, bin it, kill it. "Although it is natural for people to feel apprehensive, we would like to reassure the public that we have been working to prepare for the arrival of the virus for many years and have robust procedures in place." -- Dr Roland Salmon, Director of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, National Public Health Service for Wales, said: "The World Health Organization announced Phase 5 on 29 April because it believed a global flu pandemic was "imminent". We should not be surprised therefore that phase six has now been declared. "The decision to declare a pandemic is based on the global spread of the disease. Over the last seven weeks, swine flu has spread from Mexico to 73 other countries with tens of thousands of cases reported worldwide. There is now sustained spread of swine flu in the community in Mexico, the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Chile and Japan. . "Because this particular type of swine flu is new, people have little or no immunity to it. For this reason, we know it will spread across the country eventually. In the school in Birmingham, in the football fans bus in Scotland and in a number of other cases we have seen flu in people without links to travel so it is important that we all remain vigilant. "The pandemic will reach different countries at different times. While the outbreak is dying away in Mexico it is still growing here. So, the declaration of a pandemic will not necessarily lead to a different response in Wales. "Whereas we are currently investigating and responding to individual cases and prescribing antivirals to all close contacts to prevent the quick spread of the disease, there will come a time when it is sensible to change this approach so that our focus moves to treating people who are ill and preventing illness in people who are most at risk. There will be a greater emphasis on local risk assessments by public health professionals. "The World Health Organisation considers the overall severity of the pandemic to be moderate. This means that most people recover from infection without the need for hospitalisation or medical care. Levels of clinically severe or fatal cases appear similar to levels seen with seasonal influenza. "Nevertheless, the hospitalisation of nine patients in Scotland shows we must not be complacent about the effects of the virus in those with pre-existing health conditions. "Seasonal flu can be severe, particularly for elderly and vulnerable people, so there is still good reason for us all to take action to reduce its effects. Flu is often confused with a bad cold but is in fact far more serious and leads to many deaths each year in Wales. "We continue to advise that anyone who has flu-like symptoms and has travelled to one of the affected areas should stay at home and phone their GP or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47. "People should not go to Accident and Emergency Departments or to their GP surgery without ringing first, as this may risk spreading the infection. It also places undue pressure on the emergency services. "The National Public Health Service for Wales will continue to assess any person with flu-like symptoms who has travelled to affected areas." Public health advice and messages -- If you have returned from an affected area and have flu-like symptoms, stay at home, phone your GP or NHS Direct Wales and you will be assessed and receive treatment if necessary. Do not go into your GP surgery or Accident and Emergency department unless you are advised to do so or are seriously ill, as you may spread the illness to others. -- Further information including health advice can be found at http://www.wales.gov.uk, http://www.nphs.wales.nhs.uk and http://www.hpa.org.uk . You can also call the Swine Flu Information line on 0800 1 513 513 for recorded information, or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47 for health advice. -- It is always good practice to follow respiratory and hand hygiene such as: - Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible. - Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully. - Maintaining 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. - Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product. - Helping your children follow this advice. Facemasks - Although we are aware that facemasks were being given out to the public in Mexico, the available scientific evidence does not support the general wearing of facemasks by those who are not ill whilst going about their normal activities. We are, however, reviewing NHS supplies and stockpiles of facemasks for healthcare workers who are likely to come into regular contact with people who may have symptoms. The UK will receive an additional 227 million surgical facemasks and 34 million respirators. Wales will receive its proportionate share. Control measures -- Agreements have been signed between the UK Government and vaccine manufacturers to secure supplies of up to 90 million doses of H1N1 vaccine by the autumn. This will not affect the usual seasonal flu vaccination and will be made available to frontline healthcare workers and vulnerable people. Advance purchase arrangements are also in place to buy enough vaccine for the whole population should a pandemic be declared. -- The Welsh Assembly Government"s Health Emergency Preparedness Unit has issued guidance to Local Health Boards on anti-viral distribution. The unit is co-ordinating work on identifying appropriate collection points and the necessary arrangements to support this process. -- People who have travelled to affected areas and have flu-like symptoms have been advised to stay at home and call NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647 or phone their GP for health advice. -- The national Swine Flu Information line - 0800 1 513 513 - provides recorded information. People requiring health advice should contact NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647. -- The National Public Health Service for Wales has provided advice to port health authorities on arrangements for returning travellers. Features of the outbreak -- Based on assessment of all available information and following several expert consultations, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the level of influenza pandemic alert at phase six on 11 June 2009. -- Phase six indicates there is human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries in one World Health Organization region, with community level outbreaks

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