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LATEST NEWS: Home, Employer Advice and Vaccination pages have been recently updated.

This website has been developed by the Civil Service CMO’s Office which incorporates the Civil Service Occupational Health Department. It is intended to provide assistance to both staff and employers in the civil service on dealing with the current Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak, also known as swine flu or pandemic (H1N1) 2009.

As this continues to be an evolving situation, this website is being updated at regular intervals. It is now estimated that approximately 15% of the Irish population have been infected with H1N1 Influenza, which is lower than previous estimates. Whilst the current wave of infection is abating, it is unclear if a second wave of infection will occur. The current Influenza A(H1N1) virus is not any more aggressive than the ordinary seasonal influenza virus, but it targets younger people disproportionately, with the majority of cases occurring in children and people of working age. Roughly half of individuals hospitalised to date do not have an underlying chronic medical conditon. The current advice from the HSE/Department of Health & Children is that all members of the public should be vaccinated against H1N1 influenza.

In terms of controlling the spread of the influenza virus both in the community and the workplace, there are three strategies, namely hygiene/social distancing measures, antiviral treatments, and vaccination of at risk populations. These are each discussed on this website. Advice is also provided to employees on how to recognise symptoms, and to employers on how to deal with an outbreak in the workplace.

In addition, links are provided to relevant Irish and international websites, other relevant documents and FAQ section.

HSE 24 hr Flu Information Line Freephone 1800 94 11 00 - for up to date recorded information on Influenza A(H1N1).