Swine flu advice for all UK homes

UK homes to get swine flu advice | Swine flu masks needed

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28 Apr 2009: Leaflets about the swine flu outbreak are being sent to every home in the UK as the government prepares for a potential flu pandemic.

The government is also urgently trying to get hold of more face masks, which will be given to all doctors, nurses and other health workers.

The steps are being taken after more suspected cases of swine flu in the UK and news that the death toll from the swine flu virus in Mexico has hit 159.

Experts have also said that as many as 4 in 10 people could be affected by the swine flu virus over the next 6 months if it develops into a pandemic.

UK is well-prepared

The government has said it's been planning for an event like this for many years and Gordon Brown confirmed that Britain is 'among the best prepared countries in the world' to deal with the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Scottish couple who became the first confirmed swine flu cases in the UK are said to be doing well, but are being treated in isolation in a hospital in Airdrie.

But Iain and Dawn Askham spent 5 days seeing friends and family after they got back from Mexico, before going to the doctor about their flu symptoms. 9 people who spent time with them are now being tested for swine flu.

Professor John Oxford, an expert in viruses, has said he is optimistic about the country's ability to deal with any swine flu pandemic.

'The virus seems to be rather less virulent abroad and not many people have been affected yet. The British government has a large stock of anti-viral drugs.'