British Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham sought to reassure the public on Monday (July 20) that Britain was well-prepared to deal with a flu pandemic. He rejected accusations that the government had issued conflicting advice.

Twenty-nine Britons have died from the H1N1 flu virus so far. About 55 thousand people were infected last week — most with mild symptoms.

Pregnant women and children under five have a higher risk of contracting the virus. The Royal College of Midwives on Sunday advised women to avoid crowded places, advice which prompted confusion about whether the government was saying pregnant women should stay at home.

The Department of Health’s website stated on Monday that while most pregnant women with swine flu are likely to have mild symptoms, they have a higher risk of developing complications than most people.      

Parents at a nursery in southwest London had mixed feelings.

[Unidentified Father]:
"Well, I mean, obviously we're concerned. The messages seem to be quite confused. But we're not too worried at the moment because we're getting good care here. So we're very happy."   

[Unidentified Mother]:
"It's very concerning. I mean, I've got two children. I've got a six-year-old and James is two. So it is a bit of a worry how serious — you know it seems to be spreading quite rapidly."

Health secretary Burnham is expected to give details on a national pandemic flu web service and call center which are due to go live this week.

[Andy Burnham, British Secretary of State for Health]:
"If there is any sense of confusion we should work quickly to give advice. But I think one of the problems that has emerged this weekend is that people were looking at the old advice for H5N1 bird flu, which potentially would have been a more serious virus and it's important that people obviously look at the up-to-date information and I would argue that our message has been clear and consistent all along…” 

In a separate move, British Airways is looking out for passengers showing symptoms of the H1N1 virus and to alerting doctors who could bar them from boarding a flight.

So far only a handful of people have been turned away from boarding British Airways flights as a result of the medical checks.

Virgin Atlantic is also reported to have adopted similar measures. Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents commented:

[Sean Tipton, Spokesman Association of British Travel Agents]:
"Anything that we can do to make sure the flu does not spread we should do and will do. So if you turn up at the airport and was displaying clear symptoms of swine flu you would not be let on the plane in the first place."