Flu Deaths Rise As Government Prevaricates

One of the first casualties of government cuts has been the complete withdrawal of all health campaigns in the media as the Con-Dem(ned) coalition pulls the plug on the funding of anything it considers not to be essential - and anything to do with the health safety and welfare of the public.

This time of year always presents a serious risk to public health due to influenza, common colds, and even swine flu, but unlike in previous years, there has been no campaign in the media to highlight the need for people to protect themselves from the spreading of germs through vaccination and everyday measures such as using a handkerchief to catch coughs and sneezes.

Many in the media are blaming this lack of a government backed campaign on the sudden increase in both influenza and swine flu, with the number of people requiring intensive care treatment for flu having risen to 738, according to the Department of Health. A week ago, the figure was 460.

The latest figures from the Health Protection Agency revealed that 39 people have died of flu since October, 36 of them from swine flu. The figure includes 12 deaths during the past week. All but one of the deaths were people aged under 65, and four of them were under five.

The latest numbers show 42 youngsters under the age of five are in intensive care units.

The Government's strategy has been one of making GPs responsible for any public awareness campaign.

A government spokeswoman said:

"We are very clear about those who need to be called for vaccination and we have asked GP surgeries who have the lists of individuals to contact them. There is no additional merit in a vaccination advertising campaign."

However, she stressed that it was important "we remind people about the need to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene".

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has since announced that a flu awareness campaign will be reinstated, prompting claims he has performed a U-turn.

Shadow health secretary John Healey had accused Mr Lansley of "a serious misjudgment" in axing the autumn advertising campaign urging people to have flu jabs.

But after Mr Lansley announced that the 'Catch it, Bin it, Kill it' campaign is to be re-launched on Saturday, he said:

"It's better late than never but I welcome Andrew Lansley's U-turn."

However, the Department of Health pointed out that no flu vaccination campaign was being launched. The Health Secretary, Mr Lansley has insisted that the NHS was "well prepared" to treat sufferers, saying:

"Thanks to robust early planning, the NHS is coping well with the pressures of seasonal flu this year."

On Wednesday, the Royal College of General Practitioners announced that cases of flu rose by more than 40% in England and Wales last week. It said the number reached 124 per 100,000 of the population in the week ending December 26 - up from 86 per 100,000 cases in the previous week, with the middle-aged particularly badly hit. However, this is still well short of epidemic levels, which experts define as 200 cases per 100,000.

Professor John Watson of the HPA urged people in an at-risk group to have the flu jab, and added: "Anyone who has symptoms of flu-like illness should get medical advice as soon as possible and their GP will prescribe antivirals to reduce their symptoms and lessen the risk of them developing complications."

Source: BBC News / Yahoo News

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