EVERYTHING is in place to deal with an outbreak of swine flu in Dorset, say experts.

Health professionals are urging people not to panic as the first British cases of the new human strain of the virus, usually associated with pigs, were confirmed on Monday.

Health agencies across Dorset have, for the past year, been working on setting up the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Local Resilience Forum to deal with just such emergencies.

Stocks of the recommended medications Tamiflu, and Relenza, are believed to have remained high since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in 2006.

Clare Warner, spokeswoman for NHS Dorset, told the Daily Echo: “There’s all sorts of situation monitoring going on. That’s being co-ordinated regionally so where we have cases or suspected cases to address then the usual reporting mechanisms will all be covered.

“We’ve been planning for this sort of thing for a good year now, so all the plans are in place. The pandemic flu plan covers everything that needs to be covered.

“We’ve thought through every possible scenario. There’s really no need to panic.”

A statement released by NHS Dorset said it was too early to make a complete assessment of the health implications of the new virus, or whether it could represent the appearance of a potential pandemic strain of influenza virus.

Dr Tom McKinstry, who has a surgery in West Moors, said that, as of April 27, GPs had not received any advice on dealing with swine flu in particular. “We need to be aware if it does enter the county,” he added. “But hopefully it won’t be as serious when people do get it as it was in Mexico. If we detect early symptoms we will prescribe Tamiflu and its sister drug. The surgery doesn’t have stocks of Tamiflu, but I would imagine it was part of the contingency planning for bird flu.”

Dr McKinstry said it was vital to spot the early signs of swine flu, which are similar to those of seasonal influenza; usually a feverish illness accompanied by one or more of a cough, sore throat, headache and muscle aches. Ms Warner added: “If people can detect it early on then the drugs are having a major impact in other parts of the world. NHS Direct is really geared up so if anybody’s concerned about symptoms they should ring their GP or NHS Direct, so we can catch it as early as possible.”

The Health Protection Agency is urging people tohelp prevent the spread of illness by covering their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, throwing away dirty tissues promptly and carefully and washing hands and surfaces which are regularly touched.

Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get the virus but human infections can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine influenza happen in people who are around pigs but it is possible for viruses to also spread from person to person.

As of April 28, 2009, British holiday companies suspended their operations to Mexico following the outbreak of the deadly swine flu virus. Anyone due to travel to Mexico should contact your tour operator, there is further information on the ABTA website click here