By KUNA,
LONDON : The British Government has appointed a swine flu senior official for England to deal with the threat of a pandemic it was revealed here Wednesday.
Ian Dalton, currently chief executive of state-funded National Health Service (NHS) in the north-east of England, will become national director for NHS Flu Resilience, the Department of Health said.
He will ensure that the NHS “is in the best possible position to protect the population,” health officials added.
The appointment came as the number of UK cases of the “H1N1” virus reached 28 and information leaflets about the disease began dropping through doors.
Dalton, who will take up the post immediately, will coordinate the supply of anti-viral medication and the implementation of any future vaccination programme.
He said, “The NHS is well-placed to deal with such an eventuality and I am looking forward to working with colleagues throughout England to ensure the NHS continues to respond appropriately to any developing situation.” UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson said Dalton would “support the vital operational side of our plans” for a major flu outbreak.
“We have been preparing for the possibility of a pandemic for a number of years and the World Health Organisation says we are among the most prepared countries in the world,” he added.
Yesterday, England’s chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson warned that it was too early to assume the swine flu outbreak was a mild infection just because no-one in the UK had died.
“We must not be complacent. We know that flu viruses can change their character very rapidly as they move through populations,” he said.
Sir Liam spoke after the latest case of swine flu, an adult from Berkshire, southern England, was confirmed.
Five UK schools remain closed after being hit by the virus.
Three are in London, one on Gloucestershire, southern England and one in Devon, south west England.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families confirmed that officials were working with schools and exam boards to put contingency plans in place for the summer exam season. (end) he.ema KUNA 061305 May 09NNNN