Herefordshire confirms two further cases of swine flu
NHS Herefordshire and Herefordshire Council have reported the second and third confirmed cases of swine flu in the county.
One confirmed case is a university student who returned home with symptoms, is responding well to treatment and has, together with immediate contacts, been given a course of antiviral drugs. The other case is a man in his 40s and public health personnel are now tracing immediate contacts to provide antiviral drugs as a precautionary measure.
With 1,358 confirmed cases of swine flu in the West Midlands and a total of 3,597 in the United Kingdom, the NHS has announced it has moved beyond the point where intensive containment of swine flu can be sustained.
Due to the relatively low number of confirmed cases in Herefordshire, the county’s director of public health states the county will continue to work hard to restrict the spread of swine flu. We will make the antiviral drug Tamiflu available to treat people at risk of complications.
“I want to thank everyone in our hospitals, GP practices, the NHS and council services who are working hard to help identify possible cases and put preparations in place in case we do move to an outbreak stage,” said director of public health Dr Akeem Ali.
“I wish to remind everyone that the illness is moderate but good respiratory and hand hygiene is the single most important thing people can do, at home, work or at school, to reduce their chances of catching the virus. Always use a tissue to catch your sneezes, throw away used tissues and regularly wash your hands”.
If you do feel unwell, then please stay at home and call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or your doctor’s surgery rather than going to GP surgeries or accident and emergency.
Herefordshire’s first case was reported earlier in June and was a man, returning from holiday in an affected area, who contacted the primary care trust out-of-hours service and has recovered well after treatment at home.
A Public Health Incident Team was established in Herefordshire in April, together with a Swine Flu incident room and a Herefordshire Flu Helpline, which will be activated if required.
Both the primary care trust and the council have identified staff who can be switched from their normal duties to support preparations, such as staffing the flu line and helping to manage the distribution of antiviral medicine if necessary, while ensuring that the other usual health and council services are maintained.
Residents are reminded that the Department of Health has a Swine Flu Information Line - 0800 1513513 - which contains pre-recorded messages giving background to the disease and what we can all do to prevent its spread. It will refer callers who need more assistance to NHS Direct. The Department of Health has distributed swine flu information leaflets, as part of a national door drop, but people can obtain further copies of the leaflets by downloading them from www.direct.gov.uk/swineflu
The council and the primary care trust made translations of the flu leaflets available on their web sites to help migrant and seasonal workers stay healthy too.
Information for public can be found on: www.nhs.uk and ww.hpa.org.uk - as well as on the council’s website www.herefordshire.gov.uk and the primary care trust web site www.herefordshire.nhs.uk
