§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 7 December,Official Report, column 382, at what stage his Department will issue an alert about an influenza epidemic; and what further steps his Department proposes to take to protect those at risk from influenza. [6146]
§ Mr. HoramThe Departments of Health and the Environment issued guidance for health and local authorities on the management of communicable disease in HSG(93)56, copies of which are available in the Library. The guidance states that health authorities and local authorities should have up-to-date joint plans covering the structures and procedures for managing communicable disease control—specific diseases are not singled out—in their areas, both on a day-to-day basis and if an outbreak occurs; and that these plans should be reviewed annually. The leaflet "What should I do about flu?", produced by the Department this year, also contains advice to those at risk of serious illness should they develop influenza on how they should protect themselves. Over 6 million does of influenza vaccine have been distributed so far this influenza season.