Flu Outbreak
Cases of flu have been continued to confirmed in a number of different countries.
The World Health Organisation has raised its alert level to six, a decleration of a pandemic.
WHO’s decision to declare a pandemic is based on what is happening globally as a result of the geographic spread of the virus rather than its severity and does not suggest a sudden shift in the UK situation.
The Health Protection Agency is monitoring this situation closely and is working with the UK government to review the current incident and any threat it poses to public health. There is currently a very low level of flu activity in the UK. The HPA and the NHS have systems in place, which will alert public health authorities of any unusual strain circulating in the UK.
The Health Protection Agency's advice on school closures recommends that when a probable or confirmed case of swine flu occurs in a school setting, consideration should be given to temporarily closing the school (initially for a period of seven days). The decision should be taken on basis of individual risk assessment at the school.
Further information is available below and will be updated regularly.