Supplies of anti-flu drug Tamiflu to be kept under guard

Taking no chances: supplies of anti-viral drug Tamiflu were being stockpiled at secret locations through the UK
Tim Ross|Mark Prigg12 April 2012

Hundreds of specially guarded sites including schools and police stations will be used for handing out anti-flu drugs.

Health chiefs were today drawing up an official list of locations which are "secure" yet are within easy travelling distance for Londoners.

The Standard has learned emergency planners handling the swine flu crisis fear Tamiflu "thieves" may target official distribution points and sell the drug on the black market.

Each part of the capital will have between 10 and 70 points where people can pick up anti-viral medication through a specially issued registration number. Those thought to be infected with the virus will be told to stay at home and instead send a "flu friend" to pick up their drugs.

The Government's emergency planning committee Cobra will take the final decision on when to distribute Tamiflu.

But they are expected to give the go-ahead when the official alert level is raised by the World Health Organisation from its current position of five to six — a full pandemic.

Lorry-loads of anti-viral drugs will be sent to distribution points from where they are being held in a warehouse at a secret location.

The news comes amid warnings that tens of thousands could die if a swine flu pandemic strikes. According to worst-case projections, outlined in the official pandemic response plan for London, up to 94,000 people could die as a result of a severe outbreak in which 3.25 million — half the capital's population — would be infected.

Travel companies are trying to trace all passengers on Flight 578 from Cancun, Mexico, on 21 April.

The Thomson and First Choice charter carried three of the five people in Britain who have contracted swine flu, a 12-year-old girl from Devon, and Iain and Dawn Askham, the honeymooners who were released from hospital in Scotland this afternoon.

A 22-year-old man from Barnet and a 41-year-old woman from Redditch also have the virus. Dozens of others across the country are being tested.

But London health chiefs today appealed to people not to panic and said emergency planners and health officials were meeting twice daily to avert a major outbreak.

They urged anyone with symptoms to contact NHS Direct and not clog up hospital emergency departments.

In an interview with the Standard, Dr Simon Tanner, public health director for NHS London, said it would be at least a week before the extent of the swine flu threat was known.

The former GP said: "People shouldn't panic. At this stage, we just need to get as much information as possible by getting people who have travelled to affected areas to come forward for testing. This is to get a sense of what we are dealing with. The question on everyone's mind at the moment is how is this different from normal flu?' and the answer is not simple. There has been a death outside Mexico but as we speak we have had no other deaths. We don't know how different this is until we have more cases.

"What's good news is people are responding to the Tamiflu but it will be at least a week before we find out how this is developing in individuals. There's always the possibility this will become a pandemic but with a small illness."

Older people are the most vulnerable during winter flu outbreaks. But Mr Tanner warned that "young, fit adults" would not be immune to the swine flu virus.

He said: "The issue here is the novelty of this virus — it's like normal flu but with added genetic material. The experience from other pandemics is this affects a group of people not normally affected by flu, such as young, fit adults.

"We would always say to people contact your GP'— don't go to A&E which is for situations where there's a real risk."

Meanwhile, two people at risk of developing swine flu today criticised health chiefs after revealing they had been unable to get medication despite being designated priority cases by doctors.

Charles Posner, 67, and Felix Alverez, 38, have prescriptions for Tamiflu but cannot find a pharmacy that stocks it.

They are both staying near the Barbican after returning recently from Mexico. Mr Posner, who is British but works in Mexico City, said: "This is appalling disorganisation. We have the resources in this country but we are sitting on them."

Mr Posner, an emeritus professor from the University of London, must return to Mexico next week with his Mexican assistant Mr Alverez.

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