Welsh Assembly Government Statement On Swine Influenza, Wales

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS;  Respiratory / Asthma;  Public Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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I should like to update Members on the reports of human cases of Swine Flu in Mexico, in other parts of the world, and the state of preparedness in Wales.

Members will be aware that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared we had moved from their pandemic flu alert level Phase 3 to Phase 4 on the evening of 27 April. This means that there is evidence of increased human to human transmission but is not at Phase 6 which is when a pandemic is declared. It is too early to say that a global pandemic is inevitable.

The outbreak started in Mexico in mid March. The number of deaths likely to have been caused by swine flu has risen to over 150. Six other countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection, with one death of a 23 month old child in the USA reported today.

Outside Mexico we are seeing small numbers of cases who have linked with visits to Mexico. The United States Government has reported 64 laboratory confirmed human cases, Canada (13), New Zealand (14), Israel (2) Spain (2) and Costa Rica (1). Many of these cases are reported as having a mild illness.

Two cases were confirmed in Scotland on 26th April and at 1pm today three cases have been confirmed in England, with another 76 patients in the UK currently being tested for the virus. The situation is fluid and there are cases under investigation across the UK and we expect more cases to be confirmed in travellers recently returned from Mexico. In Wales we are investigating 20 people and there have been no confirmed cases yet in Wales.

I am working closely with Ministerial colleagues in the other home countries through the formal COBR system. This includes regular Ministerial discussions, supported by officials in a variety of working groups at UK level.

Senior representatives from Welsh Assembly Government Departments have been meeting on a daily basis with key partners to consider response arrangements. The Chief Constables in Wales, as Chairs of our four Local Resilience Forums, were briefed over the weekend on the developing situation and met at the Welsh Assembly Government on Monday where they were briefed by the Emergency Services Civil Contingencies Advisor. Multi-agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group meetings have been arranged this week to prepare local response arrangements. There is also an extraordinary meeting of the Wales Resilience Forum being held tomorrow afternoon. These meetings are precautionary and prudent measures to ensure that arrangements are in place to fully activate the multi-agency plans which have been developed should these be required.

We held a successful exercise last week to test our pandemic flu plans at all levels across Wales in order to ensure they were robust and that we could put measures in place swiftly to manage any potential outbreak. This exercise was not in response to the current situation, but part of a programme of exercises co-ordinated by Cabinet Office which had been planned over the last nine months. The plans that were tested are the culmination of a considerable amount of activity that has been taking place on flu planning across Wales in recent years.

The exercise provided a good opportunity to rehearse the roles which all organisations and key staff will have in responding to an outbreak. It proved that we have in place an effective framework within which we can respond to a flu pandemic in Wales.

Meetings have been held with the NHS this week to review their response plans in the light of both current events and the recent exercise. These plans cover all aspects of the healthcare system, and are supported by a range of preventive measures which will be put in place in the next few days. These include for example, guidelines to assist in the identification and management of cases, accessing antiviral drugs and dissemination of public messages about the importance of hygiene.

There are simple steps that everyone can take to help prevent catching colds and flu based on good respiratory and hand hygiene, such as always using a tissue to catch yours sneezes, throwing away used tissues where germs can linger and regularly washing your hands. The UK Government will be launching an advertising campaign in the next few days on good hygiene practise in the light of the swine flu outbreak. This will include delivery of an advice leaflet to every household and will be tailored for Wales including being bilingual.

When I wrote to Assembly Members on the 27th of April, I said that we must expect that cases would be reported in Wales. Whilst it is natural for people to feel apprehensive, we can reassure the public that we are working to prepare for the arrival of the virus, and have robust procedures in place. I will ensure that Members are kept regularly briefed on events as the situation changes.

Source
Welsh Assembly Government

Further information on Swine Flu

• See a Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
• See our Mexico Swine Flu Blog

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• References
• Citations