Britain Still Reeling Under The Threat Of Swine Flu -1 - By: Edwin Stuwart

The swine flu threat does not seem to end for Britain as of now as with each passing day it is confronted with a new hazard that is making the control of the disease immensely difficult for the health officials. Concerns regarding the control of the pandemic has increased as recently five patients at the University Hospital for Wales in Cardiff have been found to be infected with a mutated strain of the H1N1 virus that is resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The drug is the known anti-viral medicine that is used as the first line of treatment in people affected with the infection. Flu experts have implied that these new cases might be the first case of person to person transmission of the virus in the world. At the same time, concerns are mounting as with the mutation of the virus, the drug resistant strain is expected to become more widespread and common.

However, the emergence of this new strain has posed a new threat and the only way to prevent the further spread of the disease appears to be vaccination. In the light of this new threat, Dr Roland Salmon, director of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre at the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) has emphasized that at the moment vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the spread of the infection specially among the high risk groups. He added that the new resistant strain does not seem to be more severe than the strain that surfaced in April. It has been implied that the virus is spreading at an alarming rate and people should be aware of the symptoms and at the same time should take necessary initiatives to prevent its spread. Dr. Salmon has also added that the vaccine against swine flu has been approved and as a result common people should not feel inhibited to administer the vaccine.

Moreover, in an new initiative to restrict the spread of the virus, health officials have undertaken plans to vaccinate around 3 million healthy children who are considered to be among the high risk groups in order to prevent them from contracting the infection. Health officials have implied that the virus can have adverse impact on children that might led to further complications. As the death toll has increased to a large extent in the last few weeks, the government has emphasized that vaccinations of children between the age group of six months to five years is of imperative need. However, many people are not really convinced about administering the vaccine to children with parents having increasing doubts about the credibility of the proposed vaccine.

At the same time, Professor Nigel Dimmock, a virologist at the University of Warwick has added a different view point stating that the indiscriminate use of Tamiflu has actually resulted in the development of resistance which otherwise would not have been possible. However, the professor also added that despite the rising concerns there is no reason to panic as vaccination could be of real help in arresting the spread of the virus.

Since the virus first emerged in Mexico and United States in the month of April, around 6,750 deaths have been reported by the World Health Organization. Britain is among the European nations that has been severely affected by swine flu and is still reeling under the onslaught of the disease. Already 715,000 cases have been reported and since the pandemic began around 100 deaths has occurred due to the infection. As a result, the British government is keeping no stones unturned to ensure the safety of its citizens from the deadly infection.

About the Author

Edwin is an avid feature writer having an experience of more than 6 years. Edwin's strong command over the language and his in-depth knowledge in various subjects have shaped him up as a profound columnist . Edwin is currently associated with Printwords.co.uk as a feature columnist.

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