Member News
By Michael Courtney - 21st October 2009
As the UK prepares for flu season and the first rounds of swine flu vaccine rolling out this week, an all-party parliamentary group has been warned that the issue is "no laughing matter".
Speaking to the APPG on health, the Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson stressed that H1N1 (not to be confused with H5N1 or avian flu) "is not a killer, but it can kill".
A laissez-faire approach by individuals and, indeed, government could have potentially deadly consequences, he added.
The first phase of vaccines distributed today will target health care workers, essential services personnel and pregnant women.
In the coming weeks, GPs will contact patients with underlying medical problems, a group prone to complications with H1N1.
While the vaccine programme is voluntary, individuals who have close contact with the most susceptible group, five to fourteen-year-olds, have a responsibility to take necessary precautions to protect themselves and others.
Calling it a "chameleon" virus, Sir Liam explained its genetic makeup: a cocktail of "pig, bird and human influenza, resulting in almost no natural immunity".
In addition it exhibits similar characteristics to Spanish, Asian and current seasonal influenza, making accurate diagnosis a daunting task.
Pandemic/epidemic disease has been on the COBRA agenda since 2003 and Sir Liam called the government's response both robust and effective.
It is the first pandemic in more thabn forty years and the first time in history the UK has had a vaccine in advance of normal flu season.
Donaldson said that controversial decisions on the distribution of the antiviral Tamiflu and methods of containment and quarantine were right and played a "major role in preventing a more severe and deadly outbreak".
The last two weeks have seen an increase in the number of patients admitted to intensive care with swine flu and no clear explanation for the surge.
A similar phenomenon was observed during the southern hemisphere flu season in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Professor Lindsey Davies, National Director of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, explained to the group that it is "difficult to pinpoint the underlying causes of this," as other countries have different strategies and abilities with which to address these issues.
Davies assured the group that the UK is the "most prepared country in the world" to deal with the combined pressures of swine and seasonal influenza this winter.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd