Rob Macaire

'The media covered in detail the case of some British students diagnosed with the H1NI Influenza virus (Swine Flu), the first such case in Kenya. This has been a useful opportunity to inform the public of some of the issues around this virus, which has been declared as a global pandemic by the WHO. But at the same time, it's important to be responsible and present the facts clearly.

This type of flu has been spreading round the world rapidly. Fortunately, to date, most cases have been mild, not likely to be life-threatening except in a few cases for people with pre-existing medical conditions or other vulnerabilities (in the same way that normal flu is). When one British student developed symptoms and tested positive while in Kisumu, the group behaved extremely responsibly. They were all medical students and fully understood issues around infectious diseases. So they stayed in quarantine until cleared of the virus by health officials, and even those who did not develop symptoms took the relevant anti-viral drug just to be on the safe side.

The students also liaised with local authorities so that people they had worked closely with could be traced, monitored, tested and treated, as appropriate. All those that they had closest contact with have tested negative. It would not be helpful to sensationalise their departure by giving the false impression that they were still infectious or in isolation. As the WHO and others make clear, once people are symptom free they are no longer infectious and should be able to travel freely. Their response was sensible and followed sound public health principles.

Finally there have been a couple of comments in the press suggesting that had Kenyans arrived in the UK with the virus, they would have been turned away or subject to harsher travel restrictions than British people here. That is of course simply untrue: a Kenyan arriving in the UK testing positive for H1N1 flu would in fact not be under any travel restrictions (following WHO advice that restrictions will not help). But they would be offered the appropriate drugs for treatment and asked to self-isolate until symptoms have gone. This is usually within 7 days. Those who want more information on swine flu and how the UK is dealing with it, can look at the www.directgov.uk pages or the Health Protection Agency pages at www.hpa.org.uk.

So thank you for raising the profile of pandemic influenza and the collaboration between states to deal with it in a responsible way. I would encourage you and other media outlets to continue reporting responsibly and not to risk inadvertently causing unnecessary public concern.'