over 30 deaths reported in the United Kingdom

Cherie Blair, the wife of the one time Prime Minister Tony Blair has now recovered from swine flu. Cherie Blair canceled a number of public engagements last week as she recovered from the H1N1 swine influenza virus. As far as can be ascertained Tony Blair and the Blair children have not been infected with the virus. In line with correct medical procedure Cherie was given the influenza medication Tamiflu and told to drink a lot of liquids and get plenty of sleep and her treatment has been effective.

Not all sufferers from swine influenza however have been so lucky with over 30 deaths reported in the United Kingdom as a direct consequence of the virus. In all cases patients were given Tamiflu but either they got it too late or they had serious underlying health complications which meant that the combination of their natural immune system and antiviral drugs were not enough.

Getting medical care and antiviral medication greatly improves your chances of recovering quickly and without serious health complications. The British government has got huge stockpiles of both Tamiflu and Relenza which form part of the Pandemic Preparedness Plan for the United Kingdom. Many individuals however have invested in their own stocks of Tamiflu in order to be able to respond quickly to the H1N1 virus and so that they can take control over their situation should a full blown influenza pandemic begin in the UK.

In the meantime the best action that you can take as a concerned citizen is to wash your hands at regular intervals and to take common sense precautions like staying away from sneezing people and being around people who have influenza. At this point the British government says that people should continue as normal in their daily lives and should not be overly concerned and should definitely not panic or overreact.