HEALTH chiefs in Dorset are continuing to take steps to prevent the spread of swine flu, as the pandemic gains momentum.

Verwood CE First School has been closed for a week after one of its pupils was diagnosed with the illness and all the children in the boy’s year were offered the antiviral drug Tamiflu as a precaution.

But are the officials taking sensible preventative measures, or are they overreacting?

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has already warned that millions of Britons could fall victim to swine flu in the coming months as the winter – the peak season for flu – approaches and government officials have admitted illness rates from the virus could reach 50 per cent.

Does that mean 50 per cent of our schools are to be closed? Or 50 per cent of our workplaces, hospitals or nurseries?

Are hundreds of children to be given medication just as a precaution? Or will we all be vaccinated against the disease?

There has, after all, only been one UK death from the illness – a woman who had pre-existing underlying medical problems. In fact, out of 30,000 global cases, only 145 deaths have been reported.

Yet thousands of people die from “ordinary” flu every year in the UK. Is swine flu really that much more of a risk? The World Health Organisation recently announced swine flu had achieved pandemic status – the first strain of influenza to reach this mark for 41 years.

But director general Margaret Chan stressed the disease was only a “moderately severe” risk and NHS Dorset spokesman Keith Williams said existing advice would remain if the virus became more widespread.

“Symptomatic patients will be encourage to stay at home and contact the NHS using the relevant channels. If it is established they do have swine flu they will be advised accordingly.”

However Mr Williams said policy regarding school closures was changing.

“Where schoolchildren have fallen ill, most schools involved – though not all – have been closed. This aims to stop swine flu spreading. However, as we build up our understanding about the virus we have moved to local risk assessments in the school setting.

“This involves identifying children at most risk of being infected by a case of swine flu and offering them preventative antiviral medication but not moving to automatic closure.”

In fact, that policy has already become common practice in the worst-hit areas of England, where the disease is spreading too fast to justify school closures and mass drug roll-outs.

Containment of the virus is no longer feasible in parts of Birmingham and London, the two cities that have registered the most cases outside of Scotland.

Because swine flu is so prevalent in the community, many schools are now remaining open, even though children have been diagnosed with the infection.

A Health Protection Agency spokesman said: “The policy is being tweaked slightly in places where lots of children have got it. If it is spreading quite widely in the community closing schools won’t help to restrict it from spreading.

“Outside of the school children are equally exposed to it.”

There are also expected to be minor changes to who receives antivirals.

Sir Liam said: “The Health Protection Agency is going to be treating the closer contacts of the cases, rather than the more far-flung contacts, because they feel that that is supported by what they know so far about how the disease is transmitting.” But he added: “These flu viruses can change their pattern of attack. So when we come into the flu season in the autumn and winter in this country, when we expect a big surge of cases, we need to watch very carefully to see if the character of the virus is changing.”