Health care authorities in Wales have claimed that as of Wednesday, eleven people suffering from swine flu were undergoing treatment in hospital, with three patients interned in the critical care ward.

It’s been reported that children under four years of age represented the highest level of consultation rates for swine flu.

In Wales, the total number of death due to swine flu now stands at 28 since the onset of the pandemic.

According to The Wales National Public Health Service, general practitioners in the nation are no longer required to swab individuals they believe may have contracted swine flu.

Despite the recent good news, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre director Dr Roland Salmon urged people to avoid complacency.

He said that Wales has seen a decreasing number of people contacting their GP and claiming having flu symptoms. He added that the numbers are even lower than what is expected in terms of new flu cases at this time of the year.

Dr Salmon said that GPs implicated in the NPHS flu surveillance programme as well as hospital doctors are still continuing to test individuals they suspect may carry the disease.

He said that tests have shown that the community at large is now affected by other health issues with similar symptoms as swine flu.

He added that despite the declining number of people who test positive for swine flu in proportion to the ones getting tested, various forms of flu was still circulating amongst the population and that it was strongly recommended to remain vigilant concerning the signs of swine flu as well as the measures given which help avoid the disease.

As the country’s death toll rose by seven, to a total of 21, health authorities announced that vaccinations of children aged between six and five years could begin within weeks.

The said official statistics revealed one to four-year-olds had been hardest hit by the disease, but parents are split on whether they would vaccinate their children.

The National Public Health Service (NPHS) for Wales has sought to reinforce the pro-vaccination message, saying that the vaccine was the most effective tool to combat swine flu, which could be very serious in a small number of people.

A spokesman for the NHPS has urged that people to take the vaccine in all cases where it was being offered.

However Sarah Matthews, a 35 year-old mother of three-year-old twin boys from Cilfew, close to Neath, wasn’t convinced, saying that it seemed to be like the introduction of the vaccine was rushed, and that no real tests have been done on it.

But Leighton Jones of Glyncorrwg, near Port Talbot, whose 17-month son Alfie was vaccinated two weeks ago, said that the specialists did tell inform her that they didn’t know about the after-effects, but it was fine.

Work on the vaccine has progressed quickly, as drug companies had begun working on a vaccination as soon as the pandemic began to spread across the globe earlier this year.

Initial trials of the vaccine began in Australia in July and up to 1,000 children in the UK were involved in a two-week trial in September to establish which of the two vaccines worked better.

Director of the communicable disease surveillance centre at the NPHS for Wales, Dr Roland Salmon, said that the vaccine against swine flu had been tested and approved, and is now being offered to people most at risk of complications from the virus, as well as frontline health and social care workers.

She announced that 260,000 children aged six months to five years would be offered the jab, with infection rates reportedly high in the age group.

The announcement follows the death of an adult NHS Lothian patient who died from the disease, bringing the Scottish death toll to 39.

The patient is believed to have had underlying health concerns.

It is anticipated that children will be invited to their local GP practice to receive the vaccination, and the programme would last through December and into January, once the initial priority grops have been vaccinated.

Ms Sturgeon said that the decision had been made in line with independent scientific advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

She went on to say that it was their advice which had guided her in all te decisions made around the vaccination programme.

Current advice from the JCVI is that young children are more at risk of contracting the virus and the highest rate of hospitalisations have been in the under-five age grous.

She added however that the vast majority of young children in common with the rest of the population, have mild symptoms and they would recover relatively quickly, but wanted to ensure that young children are fully protected against the virus.

The strategy was confirmed by Ms Sturgeon while she presented the latest figures from Health Protection Scotland on swine flu.

If a body’s immune system is too week to fight the surrounding microbes, a person needs to take constructive steps in order to strengthen the system.

When your body is functioning properly, the immune response is much quicker and efficient. The immune response is a body’s reaction to threats. They say a smile boosts the immune system. A depressed individual will therefore definitely possess a weaker immune system than a happy person.

Yoga has been used for centuries to relax and tone the body, this fact has come to be quite famous around the world. It also has the capacity to settle the mind, making the practitioner calm, relaxed and alert; the qualities required by the human body and soul to meet the challenges of modern life.

Yoga has been known to do miracles and it is considered to be an experimental science; where the yoga student performs experiments on his or her own body and soul. Do not look outwards for answers, they are already within you.

Asanas (movements) recommended to improve the immune system and fight the H1N1 virus are Vipreetkarni Kriya and Kapalbhati. They should be practiced daily for 15 – 20 minutes.

We would like to thank www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com for information used in this article.

In an attempt to control the spread of the virus many countries have installed special thermal scanners to search out patients with high temperatures. At least 160 British citizens, who are suspected to have swine flu, have been placed in quarantine in countries such as India, China and Egypt.

One British citizen who was flying to Egypt to celebrate finishing his A levels was escorted to the hospital and put in quarantine after he was seen sweating while disembarking the plane. However the reason he was sweating was due to his fear of flying- not swine flu.

Shadow minister for international trade Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “Targeting British holidaymakers abroad is wholly unnecessary. The fact we have a higher reported incidence here is probably related to our improved reporting regime. Other countries may be just a little bit slower in collating their figures. They’re very quick to blame everything on us.”

The British foreign office says they are keeping a close eye on the situation and are monitoring the welfare of British citizens held in quarantine.

Thanks to The Times for the above quotes.
To see more on this story visit their website http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Twenty-one-year-old Niamh Powell, from County Westmeath in the Irish Republic, on holiday in Britain with her extended family, fell ill last Saturday at the Cala Gran holiday park in Blackpool. The doctor she spoke with on the phone indicated that her illness should be treated as suspected swine flu, and prescribed Tamiflu.

Her mother Jacqueline claimed that the park manager told her the family would have to leave the campsite. She allegedly refused, indicating that her daughter was too ill to travel and that hundreds of passengers on the ferry could be exposed to the virus – if in fact she had swine flu.

The NHS helpline was that Powell not be moved for at least 48 hours, but the woman’s mother said that the manager insisted they leave no later than Monday morning. A security guard was posted outside their caravan to ensure they stayed inside until they left the park.

A park spokesman said that “a well-developed strategy” was in place for handling suspected swine flu cases that was based on advice issued by the chief medical officer for England and Wales.

For more information on this article please visit www.irishtimes.com.