"Almost nine out of 10 of those suspected of having swine flu had some other viral illness"

Dr James Le Fanu: swine flu

Swine flu? Pigs may fly

By Dr James Le Fanu
Published: 7:00AM BST 02 Sep 2009

Dr James Le Fanu Photo: MARTIN POPE

There is nothing like a fortnight’s holiday for putting things in perspective. I flew to Greece, leaving Britain in the grip of the swine flu epidemic with an estimated 100,000 new cases per week – only to discover on my return that this major threat to the nation’s health seems to have evaporated.

Or perhaps, as the British Medical Journal suggests, there never was an epidemic. After considerable difficulty, Edinburgh doctor Wilfrid Treasure tracked down confirmed cases in his area – just 13 per cent of those in whom it was originally diagnosed. Almost nine out of 10 of those suspected of having swine flu had some other viral illness. It was a similar story at Middlesbrough’s University Hospital, which set aside a special swine flu ward. In July, 28 patients were admitted but the diagnosis was confirmed in just two. It will be interesting to see if a more realistic assessment of the scale of the “epidemic” will influence plans for a mass immunisation campaign this autumn. I doubt it