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Rush for drugs as Ulster swine flu fears increase
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Parents in Northern Ireland have been warned to expect an explosion in the number of cases of swine flu following the death of a toddler who had contracted the deadly bug.
It can be revealed that more than 100 prescriptions for antiviral medication are currently being handed out every day in Northern Ireland to battle the pandemic which is now spreading faster in the province than ever before.
However, amid growing fear among parents, a top doctor has urged the public to remain calm in light of the latest tragic death.
It was announced yesterday that a child under the age of three who had been diagnosed with swine flu had died. The child was a patient of the South Eastern Health Trust.
The current increase in swine flu cases in Northern Ireland suggests a second wave of the outbreak, according to Dr Brian Dunn, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Northern Ireland General Practitioner’s committee.
He said: “I think the figures we are seeing at the moment are what we were expecting, but I think it's just the beginning.”
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Costly stockpiled 'Tamiflu' has a big question mark over it as a useful antiviral treatment, and is definitely thought to be inadequate in relation to younger sufferers; it appears to be prescribed as a mere palliative. Where is the serum which we were promised for September.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 08.10.09, 19:59 GMT
I must agree - I'm a doctor and spent all day yesterday fending off calls from very anxious members of the public.
Only to get home and discover the headline of the Belfast Telegraph proclaiming that 'another child with swine flu dies'. It hasn't yet been released what the actual circumstances of this childs' death were.
These headlines and media hype serve only to stir up anxiety amongst the general public and place an already stretched health service under even more pressure - how about some facts BT?
Posted by J | 08.10.09, 17:41 GMT
Who had contracted the deadly bug??? Statements like these are totally ridiculous. Most experts now admit that swine flu is no more dangerous than seasonal flu. Would BT refer to the regular winter sniffles as a deadly bug? This case is tragic enough on its own without the media hyping it up. Recent U.S. research classified the pandemic as 'very mild' and found it to be mildest in children. This bit of news has hardly been picked up by media who seem more interested in the kind of scaremongering displayed above.
Posted by John | 08.10.09, 15:08 GMT
Well said, Liam! I have appealed to the Belfast Telegraph through this forum to "stop flogging this very dead horse" - but they still persist.
News (PROPER news!) must be very scarce when the media insist on running with this non-story! How many people in the UK will die of "ordinary" flu? Probably in the region of three to five thousand. How many have died of swine flu? Less than one hundred! Go figure, as our American cousins would say.
Posted by Centaur | 08.10.09, 14:58 GMT
What's the rush? Didn't McGimpsey already say that Northern Ireland has already foolishly forked out for a 100% coverage of the population with the tamiflu?
I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies have been rubbing their hands since the pandemic of swine flu came about.
Posted by Ulysses32 | 08.10.09, 13:17 GMT
If a top doctor is urging everyone to be calm then why is the BT and other media sources trying to spread fear with pathetic headlines like that above??
Sort it out BT,
Posted by Liam | 08.10.09, 10:48 GMT