By Rosetta Donnelly
SWINE flu has reached West Tyrone after a case was confirmed in Castlederg this week.
A man who felt unwell arrived at the local medical centre and, after establishing that he had all the symptoms of swine flu, local GP Dr Brendan O'Hare gave him the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
The man's entire family was then treated for the illness, including a woman who is heavily pregnant which falls into the 'at risk' group.
Dr O'Hare said this is the first time he has encountered a case of swine flu. He revealed that the man had not been abroad but he had a high temperature, a sore throat, and was feeling sick which, according to the GP, are classic symptoms of the virus.
Swine flu was declared a pandemic a few months ago and there have been at least 45 confirmed cases in Northern Ireland to date.
Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has already warned a third of the population here could be infected with swine flu in the autumn
However, Dr O'Hare said there are measures in place to deal with the virus if there is a significant outbreak locally.
He said, "Doctors in this area have introduced a buddy system which will allow surgeries to support each other. Castlederg is paired with Newtownstewart Medical Centre, so if doctors or nurses have to go off in large numbers due the to flu their 'buddy' will lend support.
"Also, if there are large numbers infected, the councils have agreed for leisure complexes to be used as treatment centres if necessary."
The World Health Organisation says most swine flu cases are mild, with many people recovering unaided.
However, there are a number of 'at risk' groups which could develop complications in the event of contracting the virus.
These include pregnant women, over 65s, those with diabetes, asthmatic and other clinical conditions.
A safe vaccine for the public is expected to be made available by November, Dr O'Hare said.
"There is Tamiflu available for treating those who need it until the vaccine becomes available, which will hopefully be in November. Everyone will be treated with the vaccine which should hopefully bring an end to this epidemic."
He added that although the current swine flu workload is "manageable" due to relatively small numbers of people with the virus, Dr O'Hare warned that this would become "enormous" if over 40% of the population contracted swine flu.
He said, "If there are large numbers, we may be forced to treat one patient over another as people in the 'at risk' group would take precedence over a healthy 20-year-old."
A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust said anyone with symptoms of flu is advised to stay at home and phone their GP or Out of Hours Centre for advice.
"The Western Trust with other health and social care organisations has well-developed plans to deal with a flu pandemic.
"An incident group is fully operational and meets regularly to manage the situation as it develops. The Trust has robust arrangements in place and its plans include consideration of the increased number of hospital patients a pandemic may create and appropriate isolation arrangements for such patients.
"The Western Trust is working with the Public Health Agency and the DHSSPS to ensure that every precaution is taken and that the Trust is prepared should the situation escalate further.
"The Northern Ireland swine flu helpline number is 0800 0514 142. This is a freephone helpline for those who want more information about swine flu."
