Herefordshire confirms first case of swine flu

NHS Herefordshire and Herefordshire Council have confirmed that the county has its first case of swine flu. A man recently returning from holiday in an affected area contacted the primary care trust out-of-hours service and is now responding well to treatment at home.

Director of public health Dr Akeem Ali has asked local people to remain vigilant and take all necessary hygiene measures to prevent the spread of swine flu. There are now 112 cases confirmed in the West Midlands region, and 428 confirmed cases in the UK.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) remains at level 5 today (4 June 2009) and the primary care trust, the council and the county hospital are prepared in case a pandemic (level 6) is declared.

Director of public health Dr Akeem Ali is Herefordshire’s lead on the issue.

“We have been expecting that we would eventually have cases of swine flu in Herefordshire and we are ready and planning for more.

“The man confirmed as having swine flu in Herefordshire, did exactly the right thing. When he was aware of possible symptoms, he did not go out but telephoned our out-of-hours service and identified a ‘flu friend’ who was able to get food and medication for him. The person is now responding well to anti-viral treatment and we wish to reassure people that Herefordshire has plans in place to deal with any outbreak. In the meantime everyone should please continue to take a few simple steps at home, at work or at school to maintain good respiratory and hand hygiene. Always use a tissue to catch your sneezes, throw away used tissues where germs can linger and regularly wash your hands”.

A Public Health Incident Team was established in Herefordshire in April, together with a Swine Flu Incident Room and a Herefordshire Flu Helpline, which will be activated in the event of a pandemic. Both the primary care trust and the council have identified staff who can be switched from their normal duties to support preparations, such as staffing the flu line and helping to manage the distribution of anti viral medicine if necessary, while ensuring that the other usual health and council services are maintained.

In Herefordshire, there have been updates to raise awareness of a possible swine flu case and information has gone to community groups, schools, youth clubs, residential homes, businesses, GP surgeries, dentists and pharmacists.

Residents are reminded that the Department of Health has a Swine Flu Information Line – 0800 1513513 - which contains pre-recorded messages giving background to the disease and what we can all do to prevent its spread. It will refer callers who need more assistance to NHS Direct. The Department of Health has distributed swine flu information leaflets, as part of a national door drop, but people can obtain further copies of the leaflets by downloading them from www.direct.gov.uk/swineflu.

The council and the primary care trust are making translations of the flu leaflets available on their web sites to help migrant and seasonal workers stay healthy too.
 
Information for the public can be found on: http://www.nhs.uk/ and http://www.hpa.org.uk/ - as well as on the Swine flu page of this website and the primary care trust web site http://www.herefordshire.nhs.uk/

The advice is, if you have come back from one of the affected countries, and have flu like symptoms, stay at home and call your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

There are simple steps that people and their families should take to help prevent catching colds and flu:

1.  Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue.

2.  Dispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.

3.  Maintain good basic hygiene - wash hands often with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people.

4.  Clean hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) often using a normal cleaning product

5.  Make sure your children follow this advice.

Schools and other children’s services are expected to be operating as usual at present and have been alerted to additional guidance on planning for, and responding to, pandemic flu. Schools and other children’s or young people’s services are asked to download and display the government flu leaflet on notice boards. Higher and further education colleges will not be advised to close even during a pandemic.