Advice to employers as swine flu virus spreads

Two cases of swine flu have now been identified in the UK, from a Scottish couple who recently holidayed in Mexico, but the Health Protection Agency (HPA) says that the outbreak is unusual and warrants further investigation and vigilance. It says, “The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is closely monitoring the situation and is working with the UK Government to review the current incident and any threat it poses to the UK.”

The human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection which have been confirmed in Mexico and the US have presented with symptoms of influenza-like illness: fever, respiratory tract illness, headache and muscle aches. Some have presented with vomiting and diarrhoea. Deaths have been reported in Mexico and an investigation by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests human-to-human transmission of swine flu.

The virus that has been identified is a novel influenza A virus. It is sensitive to oseltamivir and zanamivir, but resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.

According to the HPA there is currently a very low level of flu activity in the UK and the HPA and the NHS have systems in place, which will alert public health authorities of any unusual strain circulating in the UK. Several more suspected UK cases are still being investigated.

Experts have warned that in the event of a swine flu pandemic, businesses can expect up to a quarter of employees to be absent from work. Fears have been raised about the potential effect of a pandemic on businesses and the economy.

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that an outbreak could cost the British economy about £1.5bn per day in lost business.

"If swine flu really takes hold, even people who don't catch it will want to stay at home and as a result you could get the wholesale shut-down of large areas of Britain.

"Certainly there are fears among employers about the potential impact. The annual cost of absence is £13bn and rising and obviously with a recession, business can ill afford further interruption."

John Cridland, CBI Deputy-Director General, advised firms:

“The global nature of doing business means that companies and their staff may be concerned about cases of human swine flu being confirmed in the US, Mexico, Canada and Spain.

“Most firms already have sickness policies in place for dealing with an influenza outbreak, focused on minimising the spread of the disease, and limiting the risk to staff and potential disruption to business.

“With developments moving so rapidly, firms should stay up-to-date with the latest medical and travel advice through the Department of Health and Foreign and Commonwealth Office. That advice should be communicated to staff regularly and built into any contingency plans.”

According to an occupational health expert, the new strain appears vulnerable to anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza if it is caught in its early days. 

“The Government has stockpiled Tamiflu in this country.  We do not know yet whether the flu vaccine given this winter will offer us any protection for this strain.

“Should the situation develop in the UK, your employees will soon begin to ask what they are supposed to do and, as proven with the SARS pandemic, early communications controls panic.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) monitors the situation around the world and its website details the current pandemic alert status. The current alert level four came after an emergency meeting of experts, brought forward by a day because of concerns over the outbreak. Level four means the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human, and is able to cause community-level outbreaks. A pandemic is declared at level six. Since the alerts were introduced in 2005 it has never been higher than level three.

“You may wish to start thinking about the actions you may need to take should the situation escalate; such as looking at work-related travel to areas that have had confirmed cases, looking at the toilet facilities, educating employees on good hygiene and cross contamination procedures such as telephone hygiene, good hand washing techniques, using a tissue when sneezing etc.”

The HPA has also issued a warning that people returning from a visit to an affected area are advised to monitor their health closely for seven days. If during this period they develop a feverish illness accompanied by one or more of a cough, sore throat, headache or muscle aches, they should stay at home and contact their GP by phone or seek advice from NHS Direct (0845 4647).