The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has raised its warning over the outbreak of Swine Flu to advise against all non-essential travel.
The warning has come as the death toll in Mexico has doubled to 152, with over 2,000 Mexican now admitted to hospital with symptoms.The World Health Organisation has increased its level of severity to 4 indicating evidence of increased human to human transmission.
If this level reaches 5 or even 6 it will indicate a pandemic phase, meaning there are outbreaks in at least two regions of the world.

The last pandemic happened in 1968 in Hong Kong and killed about one million people around the world.

The EU has released warning against travel to infected areas.  “Try to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the centre of the cluster to minimise the personal risk and to reduce the potential risk to spread the infection to other people.” EU health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, said

With reports coming from the United States, New Zealand, France and even Israel of hospital admissions, there is little hope of containment, so the UK is preparing for the wosrt. After the Avian Flu outbreak it is prepared with treatment of about half the UK’s population.

Advice on prevention runs as normal hygiene, by covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, washing your hands, staying away from sick people and if you are sick yourself, staying home.
At this stage it is not thought that the bug can be contracted by consuming pork products.

The flu is curable if treated quickly with antiviral medicine but no one has a naturally immunity.
——-