[Caspar]

Work emailed us all this today:

We are aware that we have sent a communication this week about Swine Flu, but as there is still a lot of media attention we thought it best to re-advise, as much of the advice given by the health authorities is not to panic.

Although the Health Authorities stance has gone from containment to treatment, it still remains: ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’. However, if people feel they have contracted the virus they should stay at home, and contact their GP or Local Authority/NHS Direct to obtain advice and medication.

We have been lucky so far in that we have had no directly reported cases; however, the bigger risk is that someone who has the virus attends work, putting others at risk; so I am asking for your help with this.

Below are the symptoms of the virus, and those most vulnerable; please familiarize yourselves with these, and if you have any concerns over yourself or a member of your team, bearing in mind that this virus comes on suddenly, where a person can be fine in the morning and be showing the symptoms within a few hours, then I would ask that you contact HR and a decision can be made on what action should be taken. Should HR be unavailable please speak to your line manager.

Please also remember that YOU are responsible for reducing the spread or contraction of the Swine Flu virus or any other virus by doing the following:
• Regularly wipe your desk, keyboard mouse and phone with cleaning wipes, if you are in an office, wipe the meeting table, door handles etc. (this is because the cleaners only do this once a week)
• Regularly wash your hands throughout the day
• Use the anti-bacterial hand gel regularly throughout the day
• Abide by the 'Catch it, Bin it, Kill it' rule
• Don't come to work if you think you may have contracted the virus.
As an extra precaution we have placed some anti-bacterial hand gel on reception please use this as you enter and exit the building.

The symptoms of swine flu are broadly the same as those of ordinary flu, but may be more severe and cause more serious complications.

The typical symptoms are:
• sudden fever, and
• Sudden cough.
Other symptoms may include:
• headache,
• tiredness,
• chills,
• aching muscles,
• limb or joint pain,
• diarrhea or stomach upset,
• sore throat,
• runny nose,
• sneezing, and
• Loss of appetite.
Most people who have contracted swine flu recover within a week and do not suffer complications, even without being given antiviral medication.

However, experts point out that as this is a new virus; its behaviour cannot be predicted with certainty.

Swine flu is different from seasonal flu in that most serious illnesses have been in younger age groups, as happened in all three 20th-century influenza pandemics.

A doctor faced with a symptomatic patient cannot yet predict with certainty the course of their illness and whether or not they will be in the small proportion who may become more seriously ill.

This is why antiviral medication is still being given to all those with swine flu in the UK, subject to their doctor’s discretion.

High-risk groups

Some groups of people are more at risk of serious illness if they catch swine flu, and will need to start taking antiviral medication as soon as they are confirmed with the virus.
Scientists are still learning more about the risk profile of the virus, but it is already known that the following people are particularly susceptible:
• people with:
- chronic lung disease,
- chronic heart disease,
- chronic kidney disease,
- chronic liver disease,
- chronic neurological disease,
- immunosuppression (whether caused by
disease or treatment) and
- diabetes mellitus,
• patients who have had drug treatment for
asthma within the past three years,
• pregnant women,
• people aged 65 years and older, and
• young children under five years old.
It is vital that people in these higher-risk groups who catch swine flu get antivirals and start taking them as soon as possible.

---------- Post added at 20:55 ---------- Previous post was at 20:50 ----------

Apparantly someone at my daughter's pre-school (4yold) has the virus, aswell as the kids mother... don't know whether I should keep my one off.


Reading the symptoms of SwineFlu... I have all them tired, aching muscles, the *****, constant headache! though it's probably down to me starting a new job and I'm ded unfit!... ...the ***** is down to eating bad sugar based crap just to keep going lol!!!