This section provides you with regular updates regarding swine flu including the latest published weekly swine flu bulletin for Northern Ireland and a global update from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This bulletin includes data for week ending Friday 29 January (Week 4) and gives a good representation of the level of flu activity across Northern Ireland.
The key points are as follows:
The bulletin can be downloaded at the following link:
The priority groups for the swine flu vaccination, in order of priority are:
The UK has moved to a treatment phase in relation to managing the swine flu pandemic. This means that the focus is on treating those people who actually have swine flu and in particular those at higher risk of developing complications. In addition, the routine testing of suspected cases and the tracing of close contacts of a symptomatic patient has been discontinued. The level of flu in the community is therefore being monitored using a range of surveillance mechanisms through GP practices, Out of Hours centres, antiviral prescriptions and hospital surveillance systems. This enables monitoring of flu levels and identify trends in activity.
To avoid spreading the virus, if you think you have swine flu, you should stay at home and take simple measures to alleviate symptoms. And, if you are still concerned, contact your GP.
You can also go online and check your symptoms on nidirect or call the Northern Ireland swine flu helpline as follows:
Information is also available on the swine flu information line 0800 1 513 513.
World Health Organization (WHO) Alert Phase 6 - this means WHO declares a global pandemic.
You can find out more on the WHO website.