SWINE FLU: Your vital questions answered

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

A temperature of 38c (100.4f) or higher, which comes on suddenly, combined with two or more of: Sudden cough, headaches, tiredness, chills, aching limbs and joints, muscular aches, diarrhoea, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing or a loss of appetite.

'There is very little bog standard seasonal flu around at the moment, so if you have the above symptoms it is most likely to be swine flu,' says Dr Maureen Baker of the Royal College of General Practitioners.


SHOULD YOU GO TO A&E, TO YOUR DOCTOR'S OR STAY AT HOME?

Official advice is stay at home and log on to the NHS Direct website, consult the Swine Flu Information Line (08001 513 513) or your GP for advice by phone.

If swine flu is confirmed as a phone diagnosis, then you will be given an authorisation voucher - this means someone who can act as your 'flu friend' can collect it from your GP's surgery and take it to a chemist to pick up Tamiflu (or the alternative anti-viral relenza, if you cannot take Tamiflu, for example because you are pregnant).

'Avoid going to your GP surgery.There may be people in the waiting room with underlying health issues for whom swine flu could be very dangerous,' says Dr Baker.

The incubation period between infection and symptoms is about four days. 'You will be infectious for around five days in all, from a day before symptoms begin, and while the symptoms are at their worst,' says John Oxford, professor of virology at St Barts and the Royal London Hospital.


CAN YOU TAKE VITAMINS/ ECHINACEA AND SO ON TO STOP YOURSELF GETTING SWINE FLU?

'The only way to reduce your risk of developing this illness is by practising good hygiene,' says Professor Oxford.

'The virus can live for around 24 hours on surfaces, so regular hand washing and daily cleaning of door handles and other surfaces with a standard cleaner is key.'

There is no evidence that taking vitamins or supplements will help.


DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE ENOUGH TAMIFLU?

At the moment yes, according to the Department of Health, which has enough to treat 50 per cent of the population.

It is going to increase that stockpile from 23million to 50million courses of the tablets but it's unclear when the further supply will arrive.
The Government will increase its Tamiflu stockpilie from 23million to 50million courses of the tablets

Supplies: The Government will increase its Tamiflu stockpilie from 23million to 50million courses of the tablets


SHOULD YOU TAKE TAMIFLU IF YOU DON'T HAVE SWINE FLU?

Tamiflu only halts the progression of swine flu (it does not kill the virus, but prevents it from replicating and so spreading the infection in the body). It can also act as a preventative.

'What it does is put a coating around the cells in your airways, throat and nose,' says Professor Oxford. 'This acts like a glass wall and prevents the virus from infecting the cells there.

'The effects of the Tamiflu will be pretty instant - you should be protected within 30 minutes of taking it.

'However, each pill provides only a day's protection. Hypothetically, you could take a pill each day for the duration of this latest outbreak, but the effects of doing this have not been tested in the laboratory. So if it lasted for months, no one knows what taking a pill every day would do to you.'

Furthermore, it is no longer Government policy to hand it out as a wide-scale preventative drug.

The early stage of the swine flu outbreak was deemed the containment phase, when it was hoped the spread of the disease could be minimised and anti-viral medication was being given as a preventative measure because there was a chance it could still prevent a wider outbreak.

So for instance, Tamiflu was being given to schoolchildren whose classmates had tested positive for swine flu.

Then after July 2, this changed when the outbreak was deemed a treatment phase - this means swine flu is so widespread it is no longer containable.

'As the virus is more widespread now there is now point giving Tamiflu as a preventative measure as so many people can now easily come into contact with someone infected with swine flu,' said the Health Protection Agency.


DOES TAMIFLU HAVE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?

It causes nausea in one in ten of us. It is also not suitable for pregnant women or those with kidney disease. Possible but rare side effects include skin reactions and symptoms of an allergic reaction.

'The key is not to take it on an empty stomach - we don't know why exactly, but having a dry biscuit or something else to eat just before you take it seems to prevent the nausea in most cases,' says Professor Oxford.
DOES TAMIFLU WORK ON ORDINARY FLU?

Yes and no. 'There are many, many different strains of flu,' says Dr Baker.

'Whereas the majority probably would respond to Tamiflu, others will not but those may respond to other types of anti-viral medication.'

CAN YOU BUY TAMIFLU ONLINE, AND IS IT SAFE TO DO SO?

Yes, but be careful. Around 4 per cent of spam emails offer Tamiflu and relenza, the other anti-viral drug being used to treat swine flu.

But there is no guarantee that they are genuine.

Those most at risk of complications include the over-65s, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions such as chronic heart or lung disease.

COULD SWINE FLU BECOME RESISTANT TO TAMIFLU?

Yes it can do. 'There is always a risk that a virus will become resistant to an anti-viral medication,' says Professor Oxford.

'How long that takes varies; sometimes it never happens at all, however the good news is that if a medication-resistant virus does mutate then for some reason it becomes less infectious and harder to spread from person to person.'

Only three people around the world with swine flu have been found to be resistant to Tamiflu treatment.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SWINE FLU VIRUS MUTATES?

If it mutates, there is a possibility that the virus will become resistant to Tamiflu in which case relenza, the alternative anti-viral treatment, would be used instead. However things may not get this bad.

SHOULD YOU TAKE TAMIFLU ON HOLIDAY?

Now that Tamiflu is not widely available as a preventative measure, it is unlikely that you would be able to get hold of a supply to take away with you - unless your GP agreed you were in a high risk group and needed it.

'If you develop symptoms while abroad, seek medical advice locally,' says a spokesman for the Health Protection Agency.

Do not attempt to travel if you do have the symptoms as in many international airports there are now heat sensitive cameras which can detect people with a high temperature.
The Health Protection Agency recommends that if you have the symptoms of swine flu do not travel

Risks: The Health Protection Agency recommends that if you have the symptoms of swine flu do not travel

WHEN WILL THERE BE A VACCINE AND WILL IT WORK?

The first batch of the vaccine will be available by late August or early September, however the truth is that scientists have not even finished developing it yet. When it does come, it will be necessary to give everybody two jabs.

The Government has initially ordered only 60million doses - so if everyone does need two does there will not be enough to go round.

The Department of Health said: 'We have not decided how the vaccination programme will work, but it would seem sensible that those at risk such as people with underlying chest problems, pregnant women and possibly healthcare workers will receive the vaccine first.'

The next batch of the vaccine would not be available until towards the end of the year - traditionally when the flu season peaks. Just how much protection the vaccine will offer is open to question. The traditional winter flu jab offers around 70-80 per cent protection and the Department of Health expects a swine flu vaccine to offer a similar leve

HOW WELL DOES NHS DIRECT WORK?

Anyone concerned about swine flu is told to use the NHS Direct swine flu symptom checker (a website) or call the National Swine Flu Information Line 08001 513 513 (a recorded message).

If you're still concerned, you're meant to call your GP for a diagnosis over the phone.

However, many have been contacting NHS Direct itself. There have been considerable delays in getting through, with one mother being told it would be ten hours before someone could call back about her 12-year-old daughter (in fact no one called).

But as we discovered, some are having to wait up to 23 hours to speak to a medic. When one of our writers called NHS Direct about her seven-year-old son (ill with a high temperature, headache, sore tummy and lethargy) she was put straight through to a recorded message - which explained how overwhelmed the service was.

Only the elderly, those with an underlying medical condition, the very young or the seriously ill are meant to stay on the line to speak to a human being (in the first instance, a 'call handler' who takes initial information to assess the urgency).

Everyone else is directed to the Flu Line, which in turn directs you to the NHS website 'symptom checker'. When our writer decided to stay on the NHS Direct line, her wait began in earnest. Another message explained how busy they were and that they were doing all they could to answer calls.

Around eight minutes later an operator answered and asked her questions about her son's age, symptoms, and if he'd been in contact with swine flu. The operator decided his case was not urgent so the next stage was for him to be assessed over the phone by a nurse who would call back.

But the wait currently stood at between four and 17 hours. Although she was told she could expect a call within ten hours, the operator admitted that in some cases people were having to wait for 23 hours.

And if the patient deteriorated in the meantime? You're meant to call NHS Direct back. Dr Martin Scurr, the Mail GP, said: 'This kind of delay in proper medical contact is scandalous. The idea that you have to wait for many, many hours before you can even talk to a medical professional is absurd.

'You shouldn't have to wait for more than two hours. Even then, the idea that a nurse is the appropriate medic to be handling these problems over the phone is deeply worrying.

'NHS Direct is simply fobbing people off, and yet the Government PR machine will say, "Yes, we've got it all under control".

'But I bet no politician is going to wait ten hours to talk to a nurse if their child is sick. They'll be jumping the queue.'

It's not an outbreak of the black death that we're talking about. Just something that might put you in bed for a couple of days with a fever.

I wonder if you are a single parent of a child whose temperature is not coming down and is not eating and is not responding well how would you react ???????

This happened to my friend, her boy was really badly, constantly vomiting, not eating and with high temperature for days and dehydrated and needed emergency attention twice.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026503_pandemic_swine_flu_bioterrorism.html

As the anticipated July release date for Baxter's A/H1N1 flu pandemic vaccine approaches, an Austrian investigative journalist is warning the world that the greatest crime in the history of humanity is underway. Jane Burgermeister has recently filed criminal charges with the FBI against the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and several of the highest ranking government and corporate officials concerning bioterrorism and attempts to commit mass murder. She has also prepared an injunction against forced vaccination which is being filed in America. These actions follow her charges filed in April against Baxter AG and Avir Green Hills Biotechnology of Austria for producing contaminated bird flu vaccine, alleging this was a deliberate act to cause and profit from a pandemic.

Summary of claims and allegations filed with FBI in Austria on June 10, 2009

In her charges, Burgermeister presents evidence of acts of bioterrorism that is in violation of U.S. law by a group operating within the U.S. under the direction of international bankers who control the Federal Reserve, as well as WHO, UN and NATO. This bioterrorism is for the purpose of carrying out a mass genocide against the U.S. population by use of a genetically engineered flu pandemic virus with the intent of causing death. This group has annexed high government offices in the U.S.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/regular.flu/index.html

Worldwide, the annual death toll from the flu is estimated to be between 250,000 and 500,000.
About 9 out of 10 of those deaths are among people older than 65, Currie said. Most times, they already have health problems that the flu makes worse, he said.
"Regular influenza can be taxing," he said. "It causes their underlying disease to decompensate and then they don't have the reserves to get through it.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17466-swine-flu-death-rate-estimates-flawed.html

At present, the estimate of the death rate in the UK and the US is 0.5 per cent, meaning that about five people die for every 1000 people infected.

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU THINK ABOUT TAKING THE TAMIFLU VACCINE.

http://socioecohistory.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/bioweapons-dangerous-vaccines-and-threats-of-a-global-pandemic/
The contaminated product, “a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses and unlabelled H5N1 (Avian Flu) viruses, was supplied to an Austrian research company….Avir Green Hills Biotechnology.” It then “sent portions of it to sub-contractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany.”

The problem was discovered when The Czech Republic company discovered that ferrets innoculated with the product died. “Ferrets shouldn’t die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses.” Public health authorities called it a “serious error” that showed “the H5N1 virus in the product was live.” But Baxter “has been parsimonious about the amount of information it has released about the event.” Christopher Bona, the company’s global bioscience communications director, did confirm that the material was a “live….experimental virus” made at the Orth-Donau research laboratory.

swine flu for many will not be a big deal

Last year, there were more cases of tuberculosis in London alone, than there have been cases of Swine Flu in the whole country so far...

3,415 tuberculosis cases were diagnosed among those living in London during 2008

So no matter how you feel about Jane Burgermeister or her allegations in totality, the real and urgent problem we face right now is the possibility of forced vaccinations against the swine flu – a threat that is being unreasonably hyped by WHO and health agencies around the world, despite the fact that your chances of being struck by lightning is 2,300 percent higher than your risk of contracting and dying from the swine flu…

Even former Presidential candidate, Congressman Ron Paul (who is also a doctor) has gone on record stating that the swine flu is little more than hysterical hype for financial gain. In his video address he also reminds you about the outcome of the last swine flu vaccination program, which took place in 1976.

At that time, one person died from the actual flu, while 25 people died by adverse reactions from the supposed life-saving vaccine, and several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

In his opinion – and I agree – when the swine flu is put into perspective of regular flu deaths, tuberculosis and other contagious diseases, the swine flu is a total non-event.

These massive, international, multi-agency and military countermeasures are absolutely out of proportion to the actual threat of this flu.

When you really consider all the facts and risks, the current crisis response to the swine flu does raise questions about motive. Why the overkill “precaution” of a mass vaccination program against a disease that causes MAINLY mild symptoms and has an extremely low risk of death?

Jane Burgermeister believes she has the answer, and that she can prove it. According to her findings, which are part of her package of criminal charges, the vaccine itself may pose a far greater danger than the virus itself.

Are you sure in that?

The difference between the swine flu and regular flu is that swine flu prefers the different age group and is able to kill otherwise healthy people.

This is just...wrong. The reason people over 30 are less likely to catch it is because some of them may already have some immunity from past infection. The current swine flu virus is less virulent, even in children, than regular flu. In the US, for every 1,000 people who catch it, around 40 need hospital treatment and one dies. Previous mass deaths from Swine flu (1918 for instance), were not caused by the main infection, but by secondary, bacterial infections, in the absence of anti-biotics.