2009 swine flu pandemic in the United Kingdom

[5][6] The overwhelming majority of patients experienced mild symptoms,[5] but some persons were in higher risk groups, such as those with asthma, diabetes,[7][8] obesity, heart disease, who were pregnant or had a weakened immune system.

[9] In the rare severe cases, around 3–5 days after symptoms manifest, the sufferer's condition declines quickly, often to the point of respiratory failure.

[2] Until 2 July 2009 the HPA published daily reports[2] of laboratory-confirmed cases with breakdown by region, by age, and by source of infection (travel, community, etc.).

On 25 April 2009, a member of British Airways cabin crew was taken to Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow and quarantined after falling ill with flu-like symptoms on a flight from Mexico City though he was later found not to have swine flu.

[86] On 26 April, two people were admitted to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, with mild flu-like symptoms after returning from Mexico.

[95] On 25 June the chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said certain areas were seeing rapid community spread which meant that it was no longer practical to attempt in those areas (initially parts of London, the west Midlands and east Berkshire[96]) to put a ring around the outbreaks by tracing the people with whom confirmed cases have come into contact and giving them drugs to try to prevent flu developing.

[34] Every year in late June and early July the Wimbledon tennis championships are held in London, attracting worldwide interest and with many hours of UK television coverage every day.

A study published in the August 2009 issue of The Lancet (available on 20 July) suggests that prolonging the school holidays could reduce the spread of the virus by up to 17%.

[102] The Department of Health Pandemic Plan (revised November 2007) states "UK health departments (directorate in Scotland) will run a national door drop and advertising campaign in Phase 5, alerting the public to the heightened risk, emphasising the need for personal preparation and socially responsible behaviour.

[105][106] There are government websites with general information and the latest updates on human swine flu in England,[2] Northern Ireland,[107] Scotland,[108][109] and Wales.

[112] During the initial containment phase of the swine flu outbreak the HPA published detailed information in daily and weekly reports linked from its Epidemiological data page on its website.

[citation needed] On 11 May 2009 UK epidemiologists at Imperial College London considered that H1N1 swine flu was spreading fast enough to justify the preparations for a pandemic.

[117] The first British tourists being brought back early from Mexico on 28 April 2009 told reporters that they had received little or no information about health precautions, either from the Mexican authorities, hotels, or from local tour guides.

[120] There is a pandemic plan covering topics from distributing the drugs and setting up helplines to closing schools and banning public events which was tested in a large exercise in 2007.

[126] On 5 May 2009 plans were announced for pupils unable to sit examinations at schools affected by flu to be assessed in other ways to ensure that children are not disadvantaged.

[131] From 2 July 2009 when a treatment, rather than containment, approach was adopted, the official clinical diagnostic criteria became: "fever (pyrexia ≥38 °C) or a history of fever, and also influenza-like illness (two or more of the following symptoms: cough; sore throat; rhinorrhoea; limb or joint pain; headache; vomiting or diarrhoea) or severe and/or life-threatening illness suggestive of an infectious process".

[132] Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, who advises the Government and the World Health Organization, said on 8 June 2009 that HPA statistics were at best accounting for half of cases.

[133] In the USA mathematical modelling based on surveys estimated that there were about 1 million cases of H1N1 flu on 25 June 2009, compared to 28,000 reported officially.

[citation needed] As of 2 July 2009 GPs will diagnose based on clinical observation and routine swabbing will stop,[136] and the HPA will "no longer be providing a daily update of the numbers of cases confirmed through laboratory tests"[137] According to the Health Protection Agency's "Swine flu: frequently asked questions" web page,[138] transmission of this new virus is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu: When the issue of touching your eyes, nose or mouth is combined with other infection control practices and good hygiene measures as recommended by the Health Protection Agency's website,[2] the following recommendations emerge as important ways to help reduce the spread of swine flu and other viruses:[citation needed] For people belonging to a high-risk group it is particularly important that they start taking anti-virals as soon as possible after infection.

"[141] Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said people in the UK were "perfectly safe at the moment", and did not need to start wearing face-masks or stop eating pork.

[142] The Head of Pandemic Planning at the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Maureen Baker, stated on 27 April that "Masks become ineffective when they become damp or after a few hours.

[147] Aside from their obligations under health and safety legislation, employers can help to minimise the spread of the virus and support good infection control practice by positively encouraging any employee who reports feeling unwell with influenza-like symptoms to stay at home until their symptoms resolve, by sending people home who develop influenza-like illness at work (avoiding public transport and wearing a face mask if possible) and by ensuring that stocks of surgical face-masks are available in the workplace for symptomatic staff to wear until they get home.