Swine flu-Continues

What precautions can I take to help protect myself and my family?

Good hygiene can help to reduce the spread of a wide range of viruses, including influenza viruses. The Health Protection Agency advises everyone to follow these precautions at all times:

* Frequently wash your hands with soap and water.
* When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue if possible.
* Dispose of used tissues promptly and carefully. Put them in a bag and then bin them.
* Clean hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently.
* Ensure children follow this advice.

If you intend to travel to an affected country, you should check the advice provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Health Protection Agency website provides comprehensive advice for people returning to the India from a country affected by influenza A (H1N1). If the disease begins to affect more people in the India, more information will be made available through leaflets, websites and the media. This will tell you how you can help protect yourself and your family and what to do if you think you are infected.

How can washing my hands help to protect me?

Washing your hands frequently can help to protect you from a wide range of infections.


Washing your hands frequently is the best way to protect yourself from a wide range of illnesses, including influenza. Everytime you touch something, germs can transfer to your hands. Touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands could transfer the germs from your hands into your body. Washing your hands frequently, helps to remove the germs and stop them spreading to you and other people.

How can I remove flu viruses from surfaces?

An infected person could spread germs to surfaces around them when they cough or sneeze, or touch them with unwashed hands or used tissues. Cleaning surfaces regularly can help to stop influenza viruses and other germs spreading around your home, to you and other people.

Cleaning surfaces with detergent and water can remove germs from an item provided you scrub all the surfaces and rinse them thoroughly with clean water. However, where proper rinsing is not possible (e.g. large or fixed surfaces such as kitchen worktops, toilet flushes and door handles) it is important to use a disinfectant to help kill the germs. It is particularly important to clean and disinfect surfaces that people often touch with their hands, such as;

* handles and switches
* taps and toilet flush handles
* kitchen worktops
* telephone receivers
* computer keyboards.

Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces using products that destroy influenza viruses will give extra reassurance.


Is it safe to eat pork and other foods derived from pigs?

You cannot get influenza by eating properly handled and prepared pork or other foods derived from pigs (e.g. bacon, sausages). However, good food hygiene helps to prevent a wide range of infections, so it is important that all food is always prepared hygienically.

* Never eat raw or poorly cooked meat.
* Keep raw meat away from cooked and ready-to-eat foods.
* Use a separate chopping board and knife to prepare raw meat.
* Wash your hands immediately after handling raw meat.
* Clean and disinfect surfaces and utensils immediately after contact with raw meat.

If someone develops flu symptoms, what should they do?

If you live in or have recently travelled to an area affected by by influenza A (H1N1), and are experiencing flu-like symptoms, you should stay at home to limit contact with others, and seek medical advice by telephoning your GP, NHS Direct or (in Scotland) NHS 24. You can contact NHS Direct by telephoning 0845 4647. In Scotland, you can contact NHS 24 by telephoning 08454 24 24 24.

If the risk of catching influenza A (H1N1) increases in the India, the Health Protection Agency will issue further advice.

Is this the start of a human flu pandemic?

Although this influenza A (H1N1) virus can spread from person to person, and is causing outbreaks of flu in some countries, it is too early to say whether this particular virus will cause a global human pandemic. The World Health Organisation is closely monitoring the situation.