§ 63 and 64. Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what changes, based on the experience during the past two winters, he plans to introduce in the information system for alerting the public to the hazards of influenza;
154W(2) what changes, based on his experience during the past two winters, he plans to introduce in the information system and services to the general medical practitioners for alerting them of the need to inform their patients of the hazards of influenza.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe present practice is for my Chief Medical Officer as soon as the necessary information is available to bring the epidemiological situation to the attention of general medical practitioners and medical officers of health, and to convey to them any relevant recommendations of my advisory committees on vaccination or other matters. After that public statements are issued where circumstances appear to make this desirable. Recent experience does not lead me to think it necessary to alter these arrangements but I am considering the possibility of enlisting the help of selected general practitioners to obtain the earliest information about the occurrence of influenza-like illnesses.
§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide greater resources to the influenza early warning system so that a number of full-time teams of professionals can be employed at a number of centres throughout the country to help detect the different strains of the virus well in advance of an epidemic instead of relying on a small team of part-time workers, as at present.
§ Mr. CrossmanAdequate laboratory facilities already exist for the speedy detection of evidence of influenza infections and the isolation and identification of viruses. Thirty laboratories of the Public Health Laboratory Service regularly receive specimens taken by general medical practitioners. Detailed typing of viruses is undertaken by the Virus Reference Laboratory of the Public Health Laboratory Service and by the World Influenza Centre at the National Institute for Medical Research.
The present outbreak of influenza in Britain is due to virus A. All strains studied this winter have been indistinguishable from the Hong Kong variant prevalent in Britain in the winter of 1968–69. Early warning of this new variant was given by the World Health 155W Organisation in the summer of 1968. The suggested employment of full-time teams would be unlikely to result in significantly greater or quicker information being available than is provided under existing arrangements.