Swine Flu in London, UK

More cases of Swine Flu in London

Two more people in London have been diagnosed with swine flu virus H1N1 type A, the UK Department of Health confirmed on 30th April

One is a 23 year old man from Islington, north London, and the other is a 29 year old man from Westminster, central London. Both have only mild symptoms said a spokesperson from the DH.

Treatment of Swine Flu in London

Both the new patients with swine flu are being treated at their own homes and the third, earlier case – a 22-year-old man from Barnet, north London, was responding well to treatment for the virus according to doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead .

Eight people in the UK are now known to have caught the H1N1 virus which causes swine flu, a type A descendent of Spanish Flu which cause the outbreak after the first world war, and all eight so far are associated with recent travel to Mexico, the epicentre of the current epidemic.

How to avoid infection with swine flu

Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A, which infects pigs. Until recently it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form of the virus which also contains genetic material from both human and avian flu, is able to spread amongst the human population.

The man from Barnet also caught the virus during a recent visit to Mexico and was admitted to hospital on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust said he was “brought to the trust in a secure, specialist ambulance. Staff are scrupulously following infection control procedures to ensure no other patient or member of staff is at risk.  In Mexico itself, the signs are that the swine flu numbers are stabilising, but the economy has been devastated for workers in catering and service industries.

As usual the advice is to wash hands thoroughly and regularly, restrain coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues and stay at home if you have flu symptoms. Keeping generally fit and healthy will also help immunity.

London’s Tamiflu stockpile to be surrendered

London is apparently well geared up for coping with a flu epidemic, having been primed for the last 5 years in preparation for bird flu but Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, said on Tuesday that “tried and tested plans” were in place to combat the threat of any outbreak of the swine flu virus and then offered to donate the entire Greater London Authority’s stockpile of Tamiflu over to the UK as a whole. The Tamiflu drugs were purchased by Boris Johnson’s predecessor, Ken Livingstone, at a cost of £1m as a precaution to help keep London’s public services running.

Swine Flu masks spotted in London

Twitter Search realtime results for Mask in London

UK can expect two waves of Swine Flu

Epidemiologists believe the UK will get two periods of increasing swine flu cases. Because of the time of year in the temperate northern hemishere, it is likely that the exponential spread of swine flu will come in two waves. The first trickle beginning now in May will probably see numbers double every few days and then level off as the warmer drier weather dampens down the rate of spread. This should happen before the majority of the population has been exposed to the virus. But a reservoir level of virus will persist throughout the summer months and then flare up again as the cold damp autumnal flu season begins in October or November. The whole process of a swine flu pandemic should have run its course by late spring 2010.

5 New Cases of Swine Flu in London

Update: 8th May 2009

There have only been five new cases of swine flu in London in the past few days and all seem to be associated with one school in Dulwich, South London

Update 26th May 2009

Reports of Swine Flu have been eclipsed in the UK news recently by media interest and public outrage over the MP’s expenses scandals, but the swine flu epidemic has not gone away. It’s continuing to spread.

UK health officials say the number of swine flu cases reported in Britain has risen to 184.

Britain’s Department of Health said on Tuesday it has confirmed 47 news cases of the virus, largely traced to an outbreak at a single school.

Health officials said the cases have been mild, without evidence of widespread transmission in the community.

The agency said 170 cases of the H1N1 virus have been confirmed in England, with 13 in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland.

Dozens of other cases are still being investigated.

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2. Swine Flu Vaccination Plan
3. H1N1 Virus – Swine Flu Season in Full Flow
4. New Brazilian Swine Flu Discovered
5. Swine Flu Pandemic Level 6 Declared