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Unless you’ve been living on another planet this past week, you will be aware that there is widespread concern and media hype about an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico which appears to be able to pass between humans, and has caused fatalities. Swine flu - the facts
Here Enterprise delves underneath the headlines to bring you what you really need to know.
Should the outbreak a cause of concern for employers?
The UK's leading health, safety and risk management specialist Connaught Compliance, based in Caerphilly, has been receiving a high volume of calls on swine flu to its Responseline information and advice helpline, which is used by clients nationwide in a wide range of sectors including retail, banking, property management.
According to consultant Andrew Regel:
“The situation at the moment is that employers are trying to get hold of any information that they can on the subject as there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this outbreak. They aren't sure what if anything they should be doing and how serious the situation may be.
“At present, most discussion is purely speculative as there are many areas of uncertainty about the outbreak. Nevertheless, it is important that people follow events carefully to ensure they follow the latest advice in a changing situation. Latest information can be found on the website of the Health Protection Agency www.hpa.org.uk.”
I am a business owner or senior manager with staff members that have recently returned from Mexico. Where do we stand from a legal perspective?
Daniel Wilde, head of employment law at leading South Wales legal practice Harding Evans says: "Employers have a duty to provide a safe place of work. In the event of a pandemic, employers will need to pay regard to any Government guidance issued on how to address Swine flu. In particular, prudent employers will take occupational health advice if any of their employees reports that they are diagnosed with or suspect that they have swine flu. Clearly, if an employee reports in suffering with obvious signs of flu, employers should send that employee to protect the remainder of the workforce. If in doubt employers should take advice"
Connaught Compliance has pulled together the following advice for employers.
What is Swine Flu?
It is a respiratory disease found in pigs which is caused by the Type A Influenza Virus. It does not normally infect humans however it does so occasionally, usually where there has been very close contact with an infected animal. Human to human spread is extremely rare normally. In pigs suffering from Swine Flu although many become ill, very few die. It is more common in winter, just as flu is in humans.
How common is Swine Flu in humans?
It is extremely rare - for example, there have been no cases of swine influenza identified in people in the UK for at least ten years. Infection with swine influenza virus has been detected occasionally in humans since the 1950s and in the USA there are only one or two cases a year. There have been occasional documented examples of person-to-person contact.
What are the symptoms and can they be treated?
These are similar to the symptoms of the usual seasonal influenza – fever, coughing, aching limbs etc. Testing has shown that the human swine influenza H1N1 can be treated with the antivirals oseltamavir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). Most of the previously reported swine influenza cases recovered fully from the disease without requiring medical attention and without antiviral medicines.
How is it transmitted?
It is transmitted by the aerosol route – coughing and sneezing or by touching something with flu viruses on it then touching their mouth or nose.
Can it be caught by eating pork?
No. These viruses cannot be passed by eating pork or pork products.
What should we be doing at present?
The WHO (World Health Organisation) is advising all countries to be on the alert for unusual pneumonia-like symptoms, especially among healthy young adults. This has been the group that was affected most in previous pandemics.
Anyone who has recently travelled to the affected areas and is experiencing influenza-like illness should stay at home to limit contact with others, and seek medical advice (NHS Direct tel:
Meanwhile everyone should observe normal good hygiene practice:
- Wash hands thoroughly and maintain high standards of basic hygiene
- Use a paper handkerchief when coughing or sneezing then dispose of it in a waste bin
- Clean surfaces regularly
- Avoid contact with people who are unwell
It would be prudent for employers to check that staff returning from affected areas have been given appropriate advice on the actions to take should they exhibit any of the above symptoms.
Employers can check the latest Government travel advice at Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/
