GPs braced for battle to ward off flu pandemic

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has urged all 34,000 GPs in the country to be ready for a massive influx of patients.

They would also be needed to help distribute antiviral drugs and visit patients at home, freeing hospital beds for the most seriously ill.

Sir Liam spoke out as the first cases of bird flu were confirmed in Europe. He said a flu pandemic was long overdue, with one in four Britons likely to be affected and an estimated 53,000 people expected to die.

The government has ordered 14.6 million doses of Tamiflu, which can ease flu symptoms, but the full stock will not arrive until next September.

Dr Sue Bennett, director of the Dorset and Somerset Health Protection Unit, said there was no immediate threat to the UK population from bird flu.

"There are two billion people living in south-east Asia and fewer than 200 cases over two years. At the moment it doesn't transmit at all easily from birds to humans, and there's no convincing evidence that it goes from human to human," she said.

She explained that an individual would need to be infected with human and avian flu at the same time for the viruses to combine and produce a new strain that could spread more easily.

"When that happens, we could get a pandemic in humans, as opposed to birds. Genetic recombination hasn't happened yet and the situation is being monitored incredibly carefully."

Dr Bennett urged anyone who qualifies for an annual flu jab - including the elderly, frontline health workers and anyone with chronic heart, lung or kidney disease - to go ahead as usual.

"It will protect them against the strains of flu known to be circulating worldwide. It's likely that there will be conventional human flu this winter, so people should be prepared," she said.

Anyone not in an "at risk" group is advised not to have a jab, as the occasional bout of flu increases natural immunity.

First published: October 18