Doctors given no clear guidance on Swine Fever

Today is one of those days when family doctors want to retire to a darkened room and put an ice pack on their head. Over breakfast, I saw the newspaper headline: "Swine flu deaths spark worldwide health alert".

writes Dr Crippen in this morning's Guardian.

The said Dr Crippin blogs at his excellent NHS Blog Doctor Blog and is rather worried about the response to Swine Fever

I have not been "alerted". None of my partners has been "alerted" either. There is a general assumption that GPs will already have received definitive guidance from on high. No such guidance has arrived.

he continues

and concludes

Pigs may not be able to fly, but the human carriers of the influenza A H1N1, as modified by the pigs, have already flown.
A few years ago we were all worried about bird flu. That was a storm in a teacup. This will probably be a minor, self-limiting outbreak. But I do not know for certain. Nor does anyone else.

Pandemic alert

Football matches cancelled and face masks being snapped up.

Has the nightmare scenario of a worldwide pandemic began in Mexico city?

A mystery ailment affecting mostly young adults which began as a flu-like illness and rapidly deteriorate to respiratory distress and breathing difficulties has been identified has now been identified as a swine flu strain.

It is genetically new and unfamiliar to scientists and combines bird flu,swine fever and the human flu virus.

Today the authorities in Mexico City have closed all schools and universities in an effort to control the outbreak.

What is worrying about this is that previous outbreaks of flu pandemics such as the
1918 outbreak started amongst the vunerable,ie infants and older people.

There are reports of 80 deaths and over 1000 people infected.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said he was confident health officials would resolve the flu outbreak during a meeting today with the country’s General Health Council.

So far there are no restrictions on travel in and out of the country.

The situation though appears serious as Margaret Chan, head of the WHO, broke off a visit to Washington to return to the agency's headquarters in Switzerland to coordinate a response to the emergency.