5 cases of swine flu have now been confirmed in Britain, among them a 12-year-old girl, Gordon Brown today confirmed during a session to the Commons during Prime Minister’s Question Time. Cases have now been diagnosed in Devon, London and Birmingham, as well as in Scotland, the first region to report infection.
The Prime Minister said that all preparations necessary to avoid the infection spreading were being taken. These are believed to include the emergency purchase of face masks for medical personnel (though their efficacy is being disputed), the expansion of stocks of anti-viral drugs from 35 million doses to 50 million, and the printing of an information leaflet that will be distributed to every family. The leaflet will have basic tips on how to safeguard health, such as is given out during winter flu season, such as instructions to cover your mouth after sneezing, dispose of tissues quickly and wash hands regularly.
In the U.S the only fatality outside of Mexico has been announced, after a 23-month old baby died in Texas. The World Health Organisation is meeting in Geneva to discuss the alert levels that they have in place; currently they are at level 4, with level six indicating that swine flu is considered a pandemic.
Across Britain, pharmacies have been reporting a run on stocks of Tamiflu and Relenza, the anti-viral drugs believed to treat swine flu. Most are totally out of stock and manafacturers Roche (Tamiflu) and GlaxoSmithKline (Relenza) have said that until the government changes current regulations restricting the release of the medications into the pharmaceutical network no new stock will be released to the public.