How will Britain cope in a flu pandemic?

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14 July 2009: The government has moved from the containment phase to the treatment phase in dealing with swine flu. The virus is still spreading from person to person in the UK and over 10,000 people are now thought to have the illness.

However, the government has had plans in place to deal with a pandemic for the last 5 years.

How the government has prepared for a pandemic

Moving into the treatment phase of dealing with swine flu means that the health services will be able to put more energy into treating people will the illness.

This means that swab tests will no longer be needed to diagnose swine flu, your doctor will diagnose you by your symptoms and can do this over the phone. You should not go into your doctor's surgery if you think you have swine flu.

Up until recently, anyone who came into contact with someone with swine flu was given anti-viral medication, such as Tamiflu. This is no longer the case. Now they are given to people with swine flu at the doctor's discretion, which means you may not be given it if your symptoms are mild.

A vaccine is being developed and should arrive in Britain in August. The government plan to vaccinate 20 million people by Christmas and everyone else by the middle of next year. The elderly, infants, ashtma and diabetes sufferers and those with a compromised immune system are likely to be vaccinated first.

Dr Maureen Baker, Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: 'The majority of people who get the disease will just have an unpleasant flu for around a week and then make a full recovery.'

However, it's possible that some people will suffer complications. Anti-viral medication should prevent most of the complications, but some people who are at a high risk (for example because of their age, a medical condition they have or because of severe symptoms) will be advised to see a doctor.

Treatment is available for those who get complications.

What the NHS expect in a pandemic

Flu pandemics usually happen every 30-50 years. The last was Hong Kong flu in 1986 and before that was Asian flu in 1957. The NHS expects that during a pandemic 25-50% of people will be affected.

Sources: Royal College of General Practitioners Daily mail