Swine flu: the answers

• Always covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

• Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.

• Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and warm water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face, or to other people.

• Cleaning hard surfaces, such as door handles, frequently using a normal cleaning product.

You should also prepare now by:

• Confirming a network of ‘flu friends’ – friends and relatives – who could help you if you fall ill. They could collect medicines and other supplies for you so you do not have to leave home and possibly spread the virus.

• Knowing your NHS number and those of other family members and keeping them in a safe place. It is not essential to have your NHS number in order to receive treatment, but it can help NHS staff to find your health records. You will be able to find your NHS Number on your medical card or other items such as prescribed medication, GP letter or hospital appointment card/letter.
• Making sure you have adequate quantities of cold and cough remedies in your medicine cupboard in case you or your family are affected by swine flu.

• Make sure you have a thermometer.

How will I know if I have got swine flu?

The typical symptoms are:

• sudden fever (a high body temperature of over 38C or 100.4F), and
• sudden cough.

Other symptoms may include:

• headache, tiredness, chills, aching muscles, limb or joint pain, diarrhoea or stomach upset, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, and loss of appetite.

Most people who have contracted swine flu recover within a week and do not suffer complications, even without being given antiviral medication.

How can an otherwise healthy person end up dying from flu?

Like other types of flu, rarely, an otherwise healthy person can die from swine flu if they develop complications, like pneumonia, which may be caused by a secondary, bacterial infection.

Why has the number of deaths suddenly gone up? Is the flu turning out to be more serious and more contagious than health experts expected?

Swine flu is not a severe illness for the majority of people. However, as we see more cases of swine flu overall, the small proportion of people who develop serious complications and sadly sometimes die will start to become much more visible.

It has been known for some weeks that swine flu could spread quickly in hotspot areas and beyond. A surge in numbers in the autumn and winter is also expected.

The virus may change or mutate, but as it stands at the moment it’s not a severe illness for most people.

Should I consult my doctor if I think I have it? What if one of my children has symptoms?

It is important to remember that for the majority of people swine flu remains a relatively mild illness. It is important to stay home if you think you have it to help limit the spread. Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and use over-the-counter remedies to help relieve symptoms. You should feel better in a few days without needing to visit your GP or the Emergency Department. Talk to your doctor over the phone if you think you have swine flu and are pregnant, very young, over 65, or have a long-term health condition such as asthma or diabetes.

How should I treat it?

It is important to stay home if you think you have it to help limit the spread. Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and use over-the-counter remedies to help relieve symptoms. You should feel better in a few days without needing to visit your GP or the Emergency Department.

Are pregnant women more vulnerable to this strain? If they do get it, how can they be treated safely? Is there any danger to their unborn child?

Pregnant women have an increased risk of complications from any type of flu, because their immune system is naturally supressed in pregnancy. Possible complications are pneumonia (an infection of the lungs), difficulty breathing and dehydration, which are more likely to happen in the second and third trimester.

Who should take Tamiflu and what will it do?

Antivirals will generally only be given, at a doctor's discretion, to people who have been diagnosed with swine flu.

Doctors should not offer antiviral medication as prophylaxis (prevention) to contacts of cases unless, for example, a household member has serious underlying health problems or there are other special circumstances.

Antivirals are not a cure, but they help you to recover by: l relieving some of the symptoms, l reducing the length of time you are ill by around one day, and l reducing the potential for serious complications, such as pneumonia.

What do they expect to happen over the next few weeks (now that schools have broken up) and months?

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has said: “From the end of next week, the National Pandemic Flu Service in England will be up and running to provide additional support to the NHS. The NHS is continuing to cope well thanks to the sterling effort of its staff, but as swine flu cases begin to increase we need to be able to give antivirals to greater numbers of people quickly.

'The Flu Service will be able to quickly diagnose people with swine flu and give them the opportunity to get antivirals from local centres, meaning in turn that GPs’ time will be freed up enabling them to deal with other illnesses.

“Cases of swine flu in the UK have so far proved to be generally mild in most people, but have been severe in a small minority of cases.

“I want the public to be reassured that we have been preparing for the possibility of a pandemic for a number of years and all that pre-planning is now paying dividends.”

When are flu vaccinations likely to be offered?

The NHS is planning to start vaccinations as soon as the vaccines arrive in September.

We have heard that three to 16-year-olds are to be vaccinated before Christmas. What about younger children who attend nurseries and pre-schools?

Vaccination plans are under way and the priorities have yet to be released by the Department of Health.

Who else is to be prioritised?

Ditto

Will there be enough flu vaccine for everyone or will healthy people be advised to take their chances with the virus?

Yes. The government has ordered enough vaccines for the whole population.

When the vaccine is available, is there a chance it could make people ill?

All vaccines can cause some people to have a reaction. But the aim of any vaccine is to prevent the disease, so the side effects of giving it are less than the potential effect of the disease itself.

Who may have some immunity to H1N1 already? If people had seasonal flu vaccine or flu last winter, will they automatically have any immunity?

Having had another strain of flu does not mean that people will have built up any immunity. As this is a new strain of flu, it is unlikely that anyone has immunity. This is why the vaccine will be available to everyone.