The swine flu epidemic in the UK has now moved to the Treatment Phase. This means that there will no longer be laboratory testing to confirm whether a person has swine flu or another influenza-like infection.

The Government is broadly following the approach that is taken to monitor seasonal flu. The consequence is that the statistics by geographical area are no longer available for the UK, East of England region, Hertfordshire or St Albans City and District. This effectively means the whole country is now a ‘hot spot’.

By national agreement, the PCTs (both west and east) lead on media liaison and media communications locally on the subject of swine flu and preventative measures. We get all our information via the Hertfordshire NHS Primary Care Trusts resilience team who cover the whole county. We keep in touch with the PCTs on a regular basis and will continue to encourage them to promote clear messages to local residents.

Antiviruals for people diagnosed with swine flu by a medical practitioner are being distributed through cooperating pharmacists. Multi-agency planning for the setting up of Antiviral Collection Points across the county continues but there is no indication of when or where these may be required.