The National Pandemic Flu Service will be stood down in response to the 'steady reduction' in the number of cases of swine flu, it was announced today.
In what will be interpreted as a sign that the outbreak in Britain is largely over, the flu hotline and website will be switched off on February 11.
Cases have been falling steadily and most people who have become ill have suffered relatively mild illness, although Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, has warned against complacency.
Health Minister Gillian Merron said the NPFS could be re-activated in seven days should it be needed.
People who suspect they have swine flu will be directed to their GP instead of the antiviral collection points from next week, she added.
In a written ministerial statement to MPs, Ms Merron said: 'The Department is today announcing the decision to stand down the NPFS with effect from 1am on February 11 2010.
'This is being done in response to the steady reduction in the estimated number of swine flu cases in the community and is in line with our overall aim of ensuring the operational response is appropriate to the level of threat posed by the virus.'
Ms Merron said GPs and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were now able to manage the swine flu caseload themselves and the decision to close down the service was taken with the 'full support' of the professional bodies.
She said people had felt 'reassured' by the fall in the numbers of patients getting the illness but warned: 'The current vaccination programme is continuing and we must remain vigilant.
'We have therefore asked GPs to make further contact with people in the priority groups who are at higher risk from the disease and who have not yet had the vaccine.'
These included children between six months and five years, pregnant women, those with compromised immune systems and frontline health workers.
She added: 'Good progress has been made in delivery of the vaccination programme to date but we must not be complacent.
'It is important that people in these groups continue to receive the vaccine as it offers the best protection against the virus.'
Figures released last month showed the number of cases of swine flu remained below 5,000 for three weeks in a row.
A total of 3.7 million priority groups in England have been vaccinated, including 132,000 pregnant women and 214,000 children aged from six months to five years, according to the Department of Health's figures.
But in a letter to the NHS last week Sir Liam warned: 'It is extremely important that we do not allow the current low levels of influenza-like illness and the stand-down of the NPFS to lead to a sense of complacency.
'There is still considerable uncertainty about how the virus will behave over the coming months and years.
'Experts advise us that it is likely that pandemic H1N1 (2009) will be the predominant flu virus in the 2010 influenza season. The 2010 season may come earlier than usual and there may be outbreaks sparked by returning travellers from countries affected by the Southern Hemisphere flu season which starts quite soon.
'There is also a risk that the genetic composition of the pandemic H1N1 (2009) virus will "drift" during its passage through the world and return to the United Kingdom to cause a more severe illness.'
No comments:
Post a Comment