Weekly swine flu update

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has today published the weekly flu bulletin.

The bulletin includes data for the week ending Friday 4 September (Week 36) and gives a good representation of the level of flu activity across Northern Ireland.

Key points from the bulletin are as follows:

• GP consultations for flu and flu-like illness have remained similar to last week and are still significantly higher than rates recorded in the same weeks of previous years;
• Out of Hours calls for flu and flu-like illness have increased slightly;
• There were 17 new cases of laboratory confirmed swine flu during week 36;
• The total number of laboratory confirmed cases in Northern Ireland as at noon on 9 September was 189;
• Antiviral prescriptions have decreased during week 36 to 301 compared with 384 courses prescribed in week 35; a total of 8,782 antiviral prescriptions have been issued to date;
• The number of cumulative swine flu hospitalisations is 78 as at noon on 9 September 2009;
• There has been one death related to swine flu.

The full weekly flu bulletin is available at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk and www.nidirect.gov.uk .

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said: As part of our plans and pandemic preparedness, work is on-going locally and nationally to plan for increasing critical care capacity to cope with additional demand during the expected surge of cases in the autumn.”

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Michael McBride said: The number of contacts made to GPs during this period for flu-like illness has remained about the same as last week but is still significantly higher compared to this time in previous years, especially for the 15-44 age group. Although, out of hours calls have increased slightly in the past week, primary care services continue to cope well despite the increased demand on their services.

If you think you have swine flu stay at home, please do not visit your GP practice, pharmacy or A&E in person. People with underlying health conditions who are at higher risk of complications if they develop influenza should call their GP for advice and assessment for antivirals. This includes people with long-term conditions such as diabetes or chronic lung disease. In addition, pregnant women who develop flu-like symptoms should phone their GP promptly. Likewise, parents of children under five years should call their doctor if their child develops flu-like symptoms.

For otherwise fit and healthy people, there is usually no need to take antivirals. Most people will recover at home by taking simple measures to alleviate symptoms such as resting, taking paracetamol and drinking plenty of fluids. If, however, your condition suddenly deteriorates or is getting worse after seven days (five for a child) then you should contact your GP or out-of-hours service.

Simple but effective hygiene measures such as frequent hand-washing can also help. Remember to cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then put the tissue into a bin – catch it, bin it, kill it!”

For further information visit the nidirect website, or call the Northern Ireland swine flu helpline on 0800 0 514 142 (9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday); textphone 18001 0800 0 514 142. Information is also available on the swine flu information line 0800 1 513 513.

Notes to editors:

1. The UK has moved to a treatment phase in relation to managing the swine flu pandemic. This means that our focus is on treating those people who actually have swine flu and in particular those at higher risk of developing complications. In addition, the routine testing of suspected cases and the tracing of close contacts of a symptomatic patient has been discontinued. The level of flu in the community is therefore being monitored using a range of surveillance mechanisms through GP practices, Out of Hours centres, antiviral prescriptions and hospital surveillance systems. This enables us to monitor flu levels and identify trends in activity.

2. Some groups of people are more at risk of serious illness if they catch Swine Flu, and will need to start taking antivirals as soon as they are confirmed with the illness. We are still learning more about the risk profile of the virus, but we already know that the following are particularly susceptible.

People with:

• Chronic lung disease
• Chronic heart disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic neurological disease
• Immunosuppression (whether caused by disease or treatment)
• Diabetes mellitus
• Patients who have had drug treatment for asthma within the past three years
• Pregnant women
• People aged 65 years and older
• Young children under five years old

It is vital that people in these higher risk groups get antivirals and start taking them as soon as possible – ideally within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

3. The Northern Ireland swine flu helpline number 0800 0514 142 is a freephone helpline for those who want more information about swine flu. Textphone 18001 0800 0 514 142.

4. The UK-wide flu information line on 0800 1 513 513 provides regularly updated advice on swine flu. This is also a freephone number.

5. Further information about swine flu can be found on the DHSSPS website or nidirect

6. The updated planning assumptions paper is available online.   

7. Media enquiries to the DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0579. Out of office hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.