UK moves to “treatment” phase for swine flu

The UK has formally moved from a “containment” to a “treatment” phase for swine flu, it has been announced.

Health secretary Andy Burnham made his comments in parliament last week, noting that a number of changes in the way the government is managing the pandemic have been brought into effect.

These include the end of intensive efforts to contain the disease in order to free up capacity to treat the increasing number of people who are contracting it on a daily basis.

Practical implications of the shift include the cessation of routine tracing of people who have come into contact with confirmed cases of swine flu, while GPs will be able to diagnose it based on symptoms rather than waiting for the results of laboratory testing.

Mr Burnham, the Labour MP for Leigh, said: “Cases are doubling every week and, on this trend, we could see over 100,000 cases per day by the end of August. Our national focus should be on treating the increasing numbers affected by swine flu.”