UPDATE Swine flu: the facts

Get the info you need on the swine flu virus

What is swine flu?

Swine flu is a type of flu, and a version of a virus H1N1, which is a disease in pigs. Swine flu's origin is still unknown.

What are the symptoms?

The incubation period (the time the disease takes to develop after exposure to infection) can be up to five or seven days , but is most likely to be between two and five days. Symptoms are similar to other types of flu and include fever (temperature of over 38C or 100.4F), fatigue, lack of appetite and coughing. Some sufferers have also reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

What are the risks?

In Britain there have been 29 deaths from swine flu to date. Britain is the sixth most badly affected country in the world, with 55,000 cases. For most people the illness is mild. Groups most vulnerable are those with chronic lung disease, including people who have had drug treatment for their asthma within the past three years, people with chronic disease of the heart, kidney, liver or neurological system (including motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis), people with suppressed immune systems, people with diabetes, pregnant women, those aged over 65 years or under five years.

How can I avoid it?

Read our advice on how to protect yourself from colds and flu.

Watch this NHS video: 'Catch it, bin it, kill it' on how to avoid spreading the virus

What if I think I have swine flu?

The National Pandemic Flu Service call centre and website opened on Thursday July 23. If you live in England and think you have swine flu, visit www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu or call 0800 1 513 100. Your symptoms can be assessed online at www.pandemicflu.direct.gov.uk.

The call centre can handle up to one million calls per week.

If you live in Scotland and think you may have swine flu, contact your GP or NHS 24 on 0845 424 2424.

If you live in Wales and think you may have swine flu, contact your GP or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647.

If you live in Northern Ireland and think you may have swine flu, contact your GP or the Northern Ireland Swine Flu Helpline on 0800 0514 142
(Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

If you're given swine flu as a diagnosis, you'll be given an authorisation number, and told where the nearest antiviral collection point is. You should then ask a flu friend - a friend or relative who doesn't have swine flu - to go and pick up the antivirals.

The flu friend must show their own ID as well as that of the patient. The
authorisation number and ID information will be checked to ensure it
matches the information provided when the assessment of symptoms was completed. 

Antiviral treatment will lessen the length and severity of symptoms, but it is not a cure. 

Take paracetamol-based cold remedies to reduce fever and other symptoms, drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest.

Stay away from your GP's surgery and hospitals, to avoid spreading the disease.

Do contact your GP direct rather than using the National Pandemic Flu Service if:
you have a serious underlying illness;
you are pregnant;
you have a sick child under one year old;
your condition suddenly gets much worse; or
your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five for a       child).

Is there a vaccine?

At the moment, there is no vaccine for swine flu. Scientists expect a vaccine to be available in the autumn.

Where can I find out more?

Visit the NHS Choices swine flu website

Visit the Directgov website swine flu section

Call the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513. By July 23 a National Pandemic Flu Service should be set up, and we'll add its details here.

Ask the doctor: read our magazine doctors' questions and answers on respiratory problems

What women doctors want you to know: stay-well secrets from female health professionals

Emergency first aid

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