UK: Preparing for swine flu worst-case scenario

Universities have started to stockpile disposable rubber gloves and soap powder in case there are multiple outbreaks of swine flu on campuses this September, reports Jessica Shepherd for The Guardian. University managers met last week to plan for the worst-case scenario of hundreds of students and staff off sick with the H1N1 virus at the start of the new term.

The vice-chancellors' umbrella group, Universities UK, held a seminar at its London headquarters at which campus managers swapped ideas on how they would cope if there were severe outbreaks of swine flu at their institutions. Younger adults are, after pregnant women and young children, among the most vulnerable to H1N1.

One university spokesman said campus managers across the UK were worried overseas students would not turn up at the start of term out of fear that the country was a hotspot for swine flu. Britain has the third highest number of recorded cases of H1N1 in the world.
Full report on The Guardian site