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Post by pandora on May 13, 2009 5:36:56 GMT
got mine thru the door today/ just the same as any sneezies/ if you catch it in a/hankie coostie/ if you miss it then wipe it off the table  |
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Post by pandora on Jun 11, 2009 20:30:35 GMT
BBC NEWS
What comes next in the flu fight?
By Nick Triggle
Health reporter, BBC News
The headlines have been impossible to miss - swine flu has reached pandemic proportions.
But once the dust settles on the World Health Organization announcement, what will it actually mean?
Technically a pandemic is when community-wide human-to-human transmission is being seen in two regions of the world.
But that does not mean the world is going to see the spread of the disease on the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu which claimed the lives of 50m people.
In many respects, phase six - as the pandemic stage is classed by the WHO - is just a label.
Struggle
What really matters is what individual countries are doing on the ground to tackle the disease - and that is not dictated by WHO but determined by national governments.
The announcement will not make any difference to the developing countries across the world that are struggling to implement their plans because of the lack of resources.
And in Australia, the country that tipped the balance from phase five to six, the fight continues along the same lines as it has in recent weeks.
Nor does the announcement alter the approach the UK is taking in its battle to contain the virus, which has infected more than 700 so far.
"It is irrelevant," says Professor Steve Field, president of the Royal College of GPs, which worked with the government to develop the flu contingency plans.
"What really matters is what is happening in places like Birmingham where flu has spread.
"The approach being taken here has been about containing the disease.
"It is largely working so far, but things can change very quickly."
Alert
The UK has four levels of alert for a pandemic with the current situation most closely resembling level three, defined as "outbreaks within the UK".
However, what is more important is what experts are calling the shift away from containment.
Ever since outbreaks started to be seen in the UK, health protection officials have been following a fairly standard protocol of giving anti-virals, isolating cases and tracing their contacts.
UK ALERT LEVELS
# One - Virus only seen outside the UK
# Two - Virus isolated in the UK
# Three - Outbreaks in the UK
# Four - Widespread activity across the UK
This has also led to the closure of several schools.
But if the UK problem reaches what is called the mitigation stage - whereby the disease is spreading but there are still no vaccine to protect people - then a different approach is required.
This could involve everything from placing restrictions on public gatherings, such as football matches and concerts, to limiting the use of drugs.
In practice, this would mean giving drugs only to those who have got the disease rather than as a preventative measure to people they have come into contact with.
The flu plans also contain contingencies to stop routine NHS operations to allow hospitals to cope with a flood of flu patients.
The government's emergency planning group Cobra has already discussed such steps, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion that they will be enacted in the immediate future.
Instead, the government is remaining tight-lipped over future developments.
“ There is concern that the virus might mutate in the southern hemisphere over its winter and become more virulent, but there's no sign of that yet ”
Fergus Walsh BBC's medical correspondent
Global view
The Department of Health says: "The WHO alert levels reflect the global view, and any action taken in the UK will be based on the situation here.
"We are monitoring the situation constantly and if anything changes we will react accordingly."
Professor Paul Hunter, a health protection expert at the University of East Anglia, says if anything the political consequences of the first pandemic in more than 40 years will be greater than any operational shift.
"There will be debates in Parliament, people will get worried and we will have to see how businesses and politicians react.
"There is a risk that there will be panic and calls for travel restrictions and the like.
"So far the government has got the reaction right in my view.
"And while it is worrying we are still seeing cases despite it being summer when flu generally does not spread, we can still be reassured that it is a relatively mild disease."
Indeed, that in many ways is the key.
The word pandemic sounds serious, but it just refers to its geographical spread not how virulent it is.
While the disease has spread to more than 70 countries, infecting nearly 30,000 people in the process, the death toll at 140 has been relatively small.
© BBC MMIX
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Post by pandora on Jun 11, 2009 20:33:53 GMT
Ever since swine flu first turned up, I've been repeating the 'catchphrase' I got taught when I was wee  Coughs and sneezes spread diseases! I still think this was the best slogan so far, but my yougest came out with 'keep your snotters, rotters!'  |
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Post by Chili's on Jun 11, 2009 20:47:19 GMT
a lass in berwick has to stay in for a week after coming back from mexico we a cold
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Post by pandora on Jun 12, 2009 19:30:02 GMT
there seems to be loads of bugs doing the rounds in berwick just now!
Swine flu hasnt bothered me much til now, as we're being told in most cases its not serious.
BUT
I got a call yesterday, saying that my gran is off on holiday at the weekend, and she's heading straight for one of the 'hotspots' in Scotland. Its the first I've been worried, cos I know her immune system is knackered. She worked in a doctors surgery for years, so she's not daft, and I'm trying to stop myself worrying about her by picturing her in one of they masks, sitting with her crocheting trying to eat an icecream at the sea side!!!!
I've also heard from folks in Glasgow who give very different accounts of whats going on up there than the media are telling everyone. I know that no one wants a panic, but I think this is going to be one of the times where we don't know how bad it was til its all over
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Post by Chili's on Jun 12, 2009 21:54:10 GMT
think it affects the under 25's worse than others for some reason which is a change. Ive been told the berwick case has been confirmed.
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Post by pandora on Jun 12, 2009 22:48:15 GMT
think it affects the under 25's worse than others for some reason which is a change. Ive been told the berwick case has been confirmed. thats sad news, chili, i hope the person makes a full recovery.............. ................ but can you imagine the ladging you'd get for bringing swine flu to Berwick!!!! |
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Post by Chili's on Jun 13, 2009 8:29:25 GMT
lol well they say laughter is the best medicine.............id rather have a doctor mind
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Post by pandora on Jun 29, 2009 21:24:19 GMT
BBC NEWS
Girl dies after getting swine flu
A girl, thought to be six years old, has died at Birmingham Children's Hospital after contracting swine flu.
NHS West Midlands said the girl, who had other serious health problems, died on Friday evening. It is not known if flu contributed to her death.
It was initially reported she was nine years old. Her death is the third swine-flu related fatality in the UK.
The other two deaths were in Scotland. There have been 1,604 extra confirmed cases in England since Friday.
The total number of cases in England has reached 4,968 with the UK's total now rising to 5,937.
'Hygiene procedures'
The Health Protection Agency confirmed 588 new cases of swine flu in the West Midlands region on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the region to 2,104.
The youngster who died is believed to have been a pupil at a special school in Birmingham which caters for children with learning difficulties.
Dr Helen Carter, consultant in public health for NHS West Midlands, said: "Our thoughts are with the family of the patient at this very sad time.
"The family have asked for the patient's identity to be kept private and we will not be releasing any further details.
"It is important to remember that our experience here has been that the vast majority of cases with swine flu are mild."
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Tragic as today's death is, I would like to emphasise that, across England, the majority of swine flu cases have not been severe.
"I would reiterate that the risk to the general public remains low and we can all play our part in slowing the spread of the virus by following simple hygiene procedures."
Asked if he feared more West Midlands deaths, Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "(We) thought there would be a few more than this with the numbers of cases that we've got.
"Actually, it's a surprise that more people haven't died in a way because you'd expect more from seasonal flu.
"More people will die from the heat in the next few days if we're not careful than they will from flu."
Last week health officials in the West Midlands and London said swine flu cases would be clinically diagnosed, rather than being confirmed by laboratory results.
The new policy means swabbing will take place only for a small number of cases to keep track of the strength of the virus.
Containment phase
Doctors will also use the drug Tamiflu more selectively, targeting only people with symptoms.
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson stressed that many parts of the UK were still in the containment phase.
But he warned there could be "tens of thousands of cases" of swine flu each week by the autumn because the virus was more likely to thrive in the colder months.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, head of the British Medical Association (BMA), said on Monday the public could rely on doctors to "step up to the mark" as swine flu spreads.
Some 366 retired GPs have joined a BMA register, saying they are willing to treat patients if the flu pandemic reaches crisis point.
In Denmark, health officials confirmed they observed a case of resistance to Tamiflu in a patient with swine flu.
The State Serum Institute, which aims to prevent and control infectious diseases, said: "The person is well now and no further contagion with the resistant virus has been detected."
Story from BBC NEWS:
© BBC MMIX
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Post by emre on Jun 30, 2009 6:50:35 GMT
some were laughig at first /
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Post by grumpy on Jun 30, 2009 18:39:18 GMT
what aboot the swine flu parties they are holding so they can catch it silly buggas |
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Post by pandora on Jul 1, 2009 21:15:45 GMT
what aboot the swine flu parties they are holding so they can catch it silly buggas aye, I saw that on the news, its the same as folks having measles parties  the flu is nasty, but its not a plague!! With the amount of press coverage its getting, its only a matter of time before it turns up on celeb big bro  |
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Post by grumpy on Jul 2, 2009 19:01:57 GMT
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wf
New Member
Posts: 36
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Post by wf on Jul 3, 2009 13:30:15 GMT
Well i am hoping i dont get it as i have a serious blood disorder and it will knock me about..As husband works in courts and travels on trains daily i have issued him with a hand wash and keep drumming it in his head to keep wiping hands..Think its a nightmare we could do without i have only just recovered from winter flu !!!
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Post by emre on Jul 3, 2009 20:03:07 GMT
its raging nu
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