Authorities act as swine flu starts to spread in the community

1 July 2009

As evidence begins to emerge that swine flu may be starting to spread in the community in parts of Greater Manchester, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) North West is repeating its advice to people with symptoms that they should stay away from work and school.

Dr. Rosemary McCann, a consultant in communicable disease control with the HPA's Greater Manchester Health Protection Unit, says: "Our advice is that if you don't have symptoms you should carry on life as normal and continue to attend school or work.

"However, if you have flu-like symptoms you should stay at home and phone your GP or NHS Direct on 0845-4647 for advice. It's important not to visit your GP surgery or local Accident and Emergency Unit and do not go to school or work.

"It's crucial for people with symptoms to cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing. The Catch it, Bin it, Kill it advice remains sound. People should preferably sneeze or cough into paper tissues, careful dispose of these tissues in a bin and then wash their hands thoroughly.

"Frequent and effective hand washing is a key element in infection control."

There are now 31 laboratory confirmed cases in Greater Manchester, plus a further 27 presumed or determined cases - people with clinically diagnosed symptoms who have not had a laboratory test.

"The Greater Manchester confirmed or presumed cases include some children in Salford who acquired H1N1v infection in the community. These children are being treated at home and are recovering well. Like most people with swine flu, they have mild illness," Dr. McCann said.

Five of these confirmed cases are pupils (three in Year 1 and two in Reception Year) at Seedley Primary School in Salford who acquired the infection in their local community. A sixth, who also picked up the infection in the wider community, is a child who attends a play group based at but not part of Langworthy Road Primary School in Salford.

All of these children are being treated at home and have either recovered or are recovering well. Parents at the school and the nursery were informed about the situation and advised that no further public health action is necessary.

Dr. Julie Higgins, NHS Salford's Director of Public Health, said: "We would like to reassure parents of local school children and also members of the wider community in Salford that we are continuing to work with our partners to ensure that we are prepared to deal with all eventualities should cases of swine flu increase."

Seedley Primary School Head Teacher Karen Hulse said: "We have been keeping parents updated with all the developments and they have been wonderfully patient and understanding, despite their concerns.

"We've taken the best advice we can from the health professionals and they are quite clear that the school should stay open as normal."

Notes to editors

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of ordinary flu. They include fever, chills, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, aching muscles and joints. Some people with swine flu have also reported vomiting and diarrhoea.

Anyone who has a fever and flu-like symptoms should stay at home and contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or their GP by phone for advice.

People with symptoms should not go to school or work and should not attend health settings such as GP surgeries or hospital A&E departments.

How swine flu is spread

The virus that causes swine flu can spread between people, although it is not known how easily. It is thought that spread of the new flu virus occurs in the same way as seasonal flu i.e.

From person to person by coughing or sneezing - usually flu is only spread in this way if a person is very close to a person with flu symptoms (usually less than 1 metre away).
From touching an object such as a door handle that has virus on it from someone infected with flu.

How swine flu can be prevented

General hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the swine flu virus. This includes:

Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible
Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully
Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to your face or to other people.
Hand washing is particularly important after coughing or sneezing on your hands, before handling or preparing food, before eating and after going to the toilet.
Cleaning hard surfaces (such as door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product is also important.

Further information on Swine flu

For more details call the swine flu information line on 0800 1513 513.

Information can also be obtained from the swine flu information leaflet that has been sent to all households in the country. This leaflet can also be obtained electronically from the Department of Health's website at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm

Further information is also available on the NHS Direct and Health Protection Agency websites at:
www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
www.hpa.org.uk

Press release issued by Hugh Lamont, HPA North West. Tel. 0151-482-5728 or 07764-906508

Last reviewed: 1 July 2009