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Swine Flu – Pandemic Flu Guidance

What is “swine flu”?

Swine flu is the common name given to a new strain of influenza (flu). It is called swine flu because it is thought to have originated in pigs, but this is not certain.

Pandemic

The virus was first identified in Mexico in April 2009. It has since become a pandemic, which means it has spread around the world. It has spread quickly because it is a new type of flu virus that few, if any, people have full resistance to.

Situation in the UK

As in other countries, most of the cases reported so far in the UK have been mild. Only a small number have led to serious illness, and these have often been in patients with existing underlying health problems, that already weakened their immune systems.

High-risk groups

Some people with underlying health problems are more at risk of complications if they catch swine flu. These conditions include: chronic lung, heart, kidney and liver disease, diabetes mellitus and others.

Also at risk are:

• patients who have had drug treatment for asthma in the past three years
• pregnant women
• people aged 65 and over
• children under five.

Causes

The swine flu virus is spread in exactly the same way as the ordinary cold and flu viruses. However, because few people, if any, have full resistance to the new strain, they are much more likely to become infected once they come into contact with the virus. The virus is contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes.

These droplets typically spread about one metre (3ft). They hang suspended in the air for a while, but then land on surfaces, where the virus can survive for up to 24 hours. Anyone who touches these surfaces can spread the virus on further by touching anything else.

Prevention: good hygiene

Preventing the spread of germs is the most effective way to slow the spread of diseases such as swine flu. Everybody should:

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water
• clean surfaces regularly to get rid of germs
• use tissues to cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
• put used tissues in a bin as soon as possible.

Symptoms

So far, most swine flu cases have been mild, with symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu. Only a small number of people have had more serious symptoms.

The typical symptoms are:

• a sudden fever (a high body temperature of 38°C/100.4°F or above), and
• a sudden cough.

Other symptoms may include:

• headache
• tiredness
• chills
• aching muscles
• limb or joint pain
• diarrhoea or stomach upset
• sore throat
• runny nose
• sneezing
• loss of appetite.

Outlook

For most people, the illness appears to be mild. Cases have been confirmed in all age groups, but children and younger people seem more likely to be affected. To date, fewer cases have been confirmed in older adults.

For a minority of people, the virus has caused severe illness. In many of these cases, other factors have been identified that are likely to have contributed to the severity of the illness. 

Paracetamol

As with ordinary flu, people who come down with swine flu should take lots of rest and use standard paracetamol-based cold remedies to reduce their temperature and help relieve symptoms.

Antivirals

The antiviral medications oseltamavir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are also being used throughout the UK to treat people with swine flu. Antivirals are not a cure for swine flu, but will help to:

• reduce the length of time you are ill by around one day
• relieve some of the symptoms
• reduce the potential for serious complications such as pneumonia.

The UK has large stocks of Tamiflu and Relenza and at the moment there is enough to treat half the population. New orders of Tamiflu have been placed to increase UK supplies to 50 million doses. This is enough to treat 80% of the population.

Vaccine

A vaccine to protect against swine flu is being developed, but is not available yet. The first batches of vaccine are expected to arrive in the autumn, and 30 million double doses (enough for half the population) are expected to be available by the end of the year.

The government has ordered enough vaccine for the whole population and, when it becomes available, will focus on those at the greatest risk first.

Concerned you could have swine flu?

If you have flu-like symptoms and are concerned that you may have swine flu, stay at home, read about swine flu symptoms, and check your condition using the online National Pandemic Flu Service.

Phone your GP if:

• you have a serious existing condition that weakens your immune system, such as cancer
• you are pregnant
• you have a sick child under one
• your condition suddenly gets much worse
• your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five for a child).

Note: The National Pandemic Flu Service is a new online service that will assess your symptoms. If required, it will provide an authorisation number that can be used to collect antiviral medication from a local collection point.

For those who do not have internet access, the same service can be accessed on: Telephone 0800 151 3100.

UCATT Safety Reps 

Safety reps should get involved in the preparations the employer makes for dealing with the flu. 

Reps should make sure the employer has either a separate policy for dealing with pandemic flu, or a general policy covering major disasters or incidents. If it does not, now is the time to develop it, of course with the input of the reps.

When considering the employer’s policy the following questions should be dealt with:

·       Are the proposals reasonable and practical?

·       Does it deal with different scenarios how the pandemic could develop, and relating those possible developments to the specific workplace?

·       Does it address issues around supply of materials or services?

·       Does it treat all staff equally?

Safety reps should ensure that firms do not encourage staff to come in when they are ill. All workers who are ill should remain at home until fully recovered. HSE and Government advice clearly tells employers to

·       Advise your staff to stay at home if they are sick with flu-like symptoms and have good reason to believe that they may have been exposed to the swine flu virus

·       Send home any employees who are displaying flu-like signs/symptoms

Swine flu in the workplace

Safety reps should ask their employers whether they have carried out a risk assessment concerning the risks workers could be facing during the swine flu pandemic. This more generic risk assessment should examine e.g.

·       if workers could be encountering members of the public who are displaying symptoms

·       the duration and frequency of contact with members of the public. 

If work needs to be done in places with suspected or confirmed swine flu cases, the employer, together with the Safety Rep, should carry out another case-specific risk assessment. This should examine the risk specific to this work and needs to establish whether the work can be postponed until there are no acute cases of suspected or confirmed swine flu.

HSE advises that it should not be necessary for workers to wear face masks routinely. For certain occupations and activities where there is an increased likelihood of exposure (e.g. health and social care workers), HSE’s guidance is that fluid-repellent surgical face masks offer a barrier to minimise contact with the mouth and nose.

Further information

NHS Pandemic Flu website

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/Introduction.aspx) 

Information in other languages

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/Otherlanguages.aspx

Full range of questions and answers on NHS website

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx

List of a range of websites and telephone numbers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_178842.htm

Department of Health http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Flu/PandemicFlu/index.htm

Health Protection Agency

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1191942171181

TUC, Pandemic Flu. Guidance for Unions

www.tuc.org.uk/extras/fluguidance.pdf