Frequently asked questions

A number of web sites provide detailed answers to frequently asked questions, as well as other interesting information: the Health Protection Agency, the BBC, and the ECDC, among others. We won't repeat their content here, but a few interesting questions that don't seem to be covered elsewhere have been sent in to flusurvey.org.uk.

Is the UK flusurvey ever going to end?

Yes. Although swine flu peaked in early November and was at very low levels by the New Year, we've kept the survey running because we wanted to be able to track seasonal flu, if it emerged. As it has transpired, seasonal flu seems to have been knocked out by swine flu and hasn't put in an appearance this winter. The flusurvey will continue to operate until the end of March 2010, and will then have a bit of a rest, a redesign, and will reappear next autumn. The flusurvey team would like to thank all flusurvey users for their contributions, which have been extremely useful throughout the pandemic, allowing some real-world data to be fed into the government's pandemic planning.

I have been vaccinated: should I carry on filling in the UK flusurvey?

Yes, please. And, if you've been vaccinated or not, we'd be delighted if you could also complete the very short vaccination questionnaire. If we have vaccinated people taking part it'll help us to work out which symptoms indicate swine flu and which should be ascribed to other infections. The vaccination questionnaire asks whether people were vaccinated, and when, and why.

Who is at risk from swine flu?

Most infection has occured in children under the age of 18 - partly because they mix together in large numbers, and partly because many older people seem to have some immunity to swine flu. Young children seem to be at greatest risk of serious consequences of infection, having higher hospitalisation rates than other groups. In the UK, most (though by no means all) swine flu deaths have been linked to underlying health conditions or other risk factors. Fergus Walsh, the BBC medical correspondent, covers this in passing in an interesting piece about vaccination: click here to read it .

Who will get the swine flu vaccine?

Vaccination has been underway since the end of October, and by mid December somewhere over 2 million doses had been given in the UK. Initially, the vaccine as targeted at those in high-risk groups (pregnant women, health care workers, hospital patients, and those with underlying health conditions). The programme was extended in early December to include children under 5. Vaccination is generally being carried out by GP, who are responsible for calling their patients in for their dose.

When will the vaccine arrive?

Vaccination begain at around the end of October. Various vaccine trials have been going on around the world, and further trials of effectiveness and possible side effects are underway in the UK. By the end of September, the two proposed UK vaccines had been approved for use by the European regulator, and trials had begun to determine which one was most effective.

How often should I complete the questionnaires?

Ideally, we'd like to you fill in the symptoms questionnaire each week. If you have had no symptoms, it should only take about 10 seconds to complete. If you have the time, we'd also like you to fill in the contact questionnaire weekly. It doesn't matter which day you fill the questionnaires in on - choose whenever is most convenient - but we anticipate that many participants will fill them in following prompting with the weekly newsletter (which we're currently sending out just before lunch on Wednesdays).

Can I be removed from the mailing list?

Yes; if you'd prefer not to receive the weekly newsletter, just send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to say so, and we'll take you off our list. 

Is there any advice for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Yes. Click here for some useful information provided by the British Society for Rheumatology. The advice given depends on the medication currently being taken - some treatments should be discontinued, while others may need to be increased (for example, it might be the case that immunosuppressant treatment should be discontinued while swine flu symptoms persist). The most sensible thing to do initially is to contact your GP.

Is there any advice for splenectomy patients?

The spleen plays an important part in mounting effective immune responses, and people with asplenia (i.e. without a normally functioning spleen) are more at risk of serious consequences of infection. Anyone with asplenia who thinks they may have encountered swine flu should contact their GP.

Should I cancel my holiday to Africa in the autumn?

There have been confirmed cases in Africa, as there have been everywhere else in the world. The accuracy of reported cases is unclear - South Africa reports the greatest number of fatalities, but this may be a result of more effective surveillance. Good updates of the international situation are provided by the ECDC .

Currently there are no restrictions on international travel as a result of the flu pandemic. However, if you are unwell it would be sensible to delay your journey until you have recovered. Otherwise, the same advice should be followed when overseas as when in the UK: wash your hands regularly, avoid close contact with people who are sick and, if ill yourself, avoid contact with others.

Weekly newsletters

Registered users of flusurvey.org.uk receive a brief weekly newsletter to help keep them up-to-date with the latest swine flu developments.

Previous issues of the newsletter can be found below: