Misrelate

The highly contagious swine flu virus has prompted medical experts in Britain to take an action-oriented approach towards treatment rather than containment. This is because the virus is spreading fast and going well beyond the containment stage. Whereas the containment stage focused on dealing with contacts of confirmed cases, the treatment stage will see anti-virals playing a major role in curing people.

It is worth remembering that the UK identified its very first case of swine flu virus attack in Scotland. Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said with regard to the pandemic flu that it has spread in recent weeks throughout the UK rapidly. With ever-increasing number of cases and widespread community transmission, a timely move to treatment phase has become necessary. She added that there is no reason to panic, because this spread does not imply that the virus is getting more virulent. It simply means that the virus is spreading fast and hence a change in strategy on the part of medical staff and the government has become imperative.

In this new treatment phase, there will be an adequate supply of anti-virals for infected patients. Nevertheless, clinical analysis is necessary before prescribing anti-virals in order to make sure that the person is really suffering from swine flu and not from some other ailment with symptoms similar to swine flu. First aid training can be of benefit to your organisation in helping you to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety (First Aid at Work) Regulations and in the recognition of major and minor illnesses.

Routine testing is to be replaced by a survey-like reporting in which swine flu cases will be reported weekly on a region-wise rate of spread, similar to how the current seasonal flu spread is reported.

Andy Burnham, health secretary for England, said in this regard that there would be a radical shift towards treatment of swine flu cases in the coming months. With more confirmed cases reported every week, estimates show that by end of August, there will be over 100,000 cases daily. Burnham further said that viruses like the H1N1 do not yield to containment strategies, and that eventually treatment is the only option left to deal with its spread.