Swine flu jabs ‘vital for under-fives’ claim (From Dorset Echo)

Swine flu jabs ‘vital for under-fives’ claim

12:00pm Friday 15th January 2010 in

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PARENTS are being urged to have their under-fives vaccinated against swine flu, despite cases of the disease falling.

Dr Adrian Dawson, director of public health for Bournemouth and Poole, said the decline in reported infections was partly down to the success of the vaccination programme.

But he warned: “As this is a new virus, we don’t know what kind of course infections may take in the future. We can’t be sure that the current decline in infections marks the end of the pandemic.

“Different types of flu are known to behave in very different ways, causing different symptoms and having peaks and troughs of infection rates at different times.

“The under-fives are far more likely to become seriously ill if they contract the illness, so it is still essential that parents make sure that their child has the vaccine when it is offered.”

At the moment, 393 people are in hospital in England with swine flu, 103 of them in critical care.

Rachel Partridge, consultant in public health with NHS Dorset, said: “The current vaccination programme continues to be extremely important to anyone that falls into any of the at risk groups.

“Current data shows that otherwise healthy children who catch swine flu are more likely than those in other age groups to need admitting to hospital so we would urge all local parents to accept the vaccination for their child when they are offered it.”

Other at risk groups include pregnant women; people with compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients or people with HIV; and anyone over six months with a medical condition that make them more susceptible to complications.

Although levels of flu are low, people are asked to remember good hygiene practices, including catching coughs or sneezes in a tissue, binning the tissue and washing their hands afterwards.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms can still access information on the National Pandemic Flu Service website, direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu, or by ringing 0800 1 513 513.