Published 23 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2977
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2977

Feature

A/H1N1 influenza update

¹ Margate

As the English government launches a dedicated telephone service and website that will prescribe antivirals to take the pressure off of GPs, Adrian O’Dowd reports on the latest information on swine flu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Much more is now known about the virus’s transmission characteristics, what happens in the clinical setting, and its mortality and morbidity. The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) has undertaken a project, called the first few hundred (FF100) cases surveillance system, that has collected detailed data on 350 cases of influenza and the patients’ close contacts. Results have not yet been published, but the work has allowed the agency to gather information on transmissions within households, duration of illness, and clinical picture. The data have been used by the agency’s modellers for forward planning and potential impact. The HPA says that this virus is similar to seasonal flu. Taking oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is not a pleasant experience, with side effects that include nausea, diarrhoea, and hallucinations.

According to the World Health Organization the 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed. In past pandemics, flu viruses have needed more than six . . . [Full text of this article]

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