There’s no escaping... swine flu is on its way

OLDHAM has so far escaped from becoming a swine flu hot spot, but a top doctor is warning it is on its way.

Dr Kailash Chand, secretary of West Pennine Local Medical Committee, said: “My gut feeling is that we will end up with the hot spots peaking and the virus moving out to other areas like ours, Oldham and Tameside, not if, but when.

GPs nationally have seen a leap of almost 50 per cent over the past week in the numbers of people contacting them with fears that they have swine flu.

And Dr Chand said the picture was the same across Oldham, piling extra pressure on GPs who were already struggling to cope with huge workloads and were doing a “superb job.”

The surge co-incides with reports that Britain now has the third highest number of cases of swine flu in the world.

He predicted a lull as schools close for the summer, but warned swine flu was likely to spread quickly again in the autumn.

And he said GPs would face another huge challenge in giving swine flu jabs alongside seasonal flu vaccines.

“I have been in general practice for over 25 years and I cannot remember us ever having a campaign of this magnitude,” said Dr Chand.

The Government says swine flu vaccine should begin arriving at the end of August with two jabs given three weeks apart, with priority given to pregnant women and people with other health conditions.

The UK is in line to get around 60 million doses — enough to cover half the population — by the end of December, with more following next year.




65,000 could die



Grim estimates of thousands of deaths were made as the Government confirmed 29 people in the UK have already died after contracting swine flu.



Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, said figures being used by the NHS to plan its services show that a 30 per cent infection rate among the population could possibly lead to 65,000 deaths.

However, estimates vary depending on the numbers who end up infected.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates there were 55,000 new cases of swine flu in England in the last week, including people visiting GPs and those who are looking after themselves at home.

The numbers being treated in English hospitals have doubled in one week to 652.

Cherie Blair, the wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, has pulled out of a series of public engagements while she battles the virus.