Plagues and rumours of plagues

There's always going to be a problem with a pandemic like swine flu - rumours and increased background noise are going to create their own problems. That's what seems to be going on in the south at the moment with The Portsmouth News reporting that increased 999 calls from people who think they have swine flu are putting untolerable pressure on the ambulance service. It little matters that most of the calls turn out to be "only ordinary flu". The problem of increased pressure on the ambulance service continues. If flu-like illnesses rise as the winter progresses so will the problems. To be clear: If you are struggling to breathe or have tightness in your chest, call an ambulance. If you also have flu symptoms go to the National Pandemic Flu Service at direct.gov.uk or call 0800 1 513 100.