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Latest from NHS Derby City:

15/07/09

Health chiefs are urging local people concerned about the flu to use the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513513 INSTEAD of ringing their GP as a first port of call.

Over the last week more people have been ringing their doctors' surgeries believing they have the illness, but NHS Derby City is asking people to use the Swine Flu Information Line before deciding whether they need to call their GP.

If you think you have Swine Flu you should stay at home and call The Flu Line to check off symptoms first.

Only if appropriate should you then call your local GP surgery to speak to a professional about your symptoms. Your practice will then discuss with you whether anti-viral medication is appropriate.

In most cases symptoms are mild and self-limiting, and patients may decide not to seek treatment with anti-viral drugs, particularly as they speed up recovery by only about a day and may have side-effects.

Derby's Director of Public Health, Dr Andy Wakeman, urged local people to help limit the spread of Swine Flu:

"We have effective processes in place and, if concerned, patients should use the Flu Line as a first step.

"Everyone should also avoid visiting their GP surgery in person if they think they may have symptoms, as it is in the early stages when Swine Flu is most infectious."

The Swine Flu Information Line is an automated service giving people advice on what to do if they think they have the illness, and providing a symptom checker. Symptoms include a sudden fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath, a sore throat, a head ache and in some cases diarrhoea.

CALL THE FLU LINE 0800 1 513 513

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It has been difficult to know just how many cases of swine flu there have been in Derbyshire at any given moment and, because swine flu is spreading so rapidly, health officials are no longer routinely testing for the disease - so the true figure will never be known.

One indicator might be the schools. At the time of writing, out of 425 schools in Derbyshire only 30 have reported cases, or suspected cases, of swine flu. In Derby city the proportion is even less - five schools out of 105 have reported cases of the disease.

Answering questions on BBC Radio Derby, Mike Sands has been giving advice on symptoms, protecting children and treatment.

He told us: "Now we've moved [away] from testing people and sending all the swabs down to microbiology labs for confirmation, essentially it's a clinical assumption you've got swine flu.

"Many people will choose to get better on their own because for some people symptoms will be mild. But if you need to contact a health professional then we can put you in touch with the antiviral drugs IF it's decided you need them."

Q: How do the symptoms of swine flu differ to those of seasonal flu?

A: There isn't really a lot of difference. It's the usual symptoms - the sudden onset of fever, appearance of a sudden cough, the usual symptoms around achiness, fatigue, not being able to get out of bed etc, runny nose, sneezing and loss of appetite.

I've heard it said that there's a higher rate of things like diarrhoea and vomiting with swine flu - BUT I'm not going to say that it's ONLY swine flu IF you have diarrhoea and vomiting - that's just in a general sense that there SEEMS to be a higher rate of diarrhoea and vomiting with swine flu.

Q: I have a daughter under five. If she develops symptoms, do you treat it just the same as an adult or do I need to take her to hospital?

A: It's the usual advice that one would give for seasonal flu. If you think it needs it, your GP can make a diagnosis.

But in terms of the treatment it would be the same as the rest of the population.

Any flu can lead to complications and younger or older TEND to be the people that  develop them more regularly.

So there's no need to panic... it's just an awareness issue.

How can I protect myself? Do I need a face mask?

Essentially, viruses don't fly across the air for a hundred yards before they smack you in the face.

Most of the transfer will be sneezing on a hard surface and then you put your fingers on that hard surface and you spread it that way.

So we're not advising face masks because they are pointless and walking around the streets with a face mask wouldn't be any good at all.

The really good message is to wipe down your hard surfaces and use anti-bacterial gels to wash your hands and that sort of thing.

What about flu jabs and inoculation against swine flu?

They are producing a swine flu vaccine - but supplies will be limited to start with and we'll have to prioritise it.

I think it's doubly important that this year people [in the at-risk groups] get their seasonal flu vaccinations -  just because swine flu is around it doesn't mean that there won't be another flu virus doing the rounds, too.