You may have heard about swine flu in the news. It is an illness very similar to normal winter flu and like normal winter flu it can spread from person to person.
The vast majority of people who catch swine flu feel unwell for around five days, and experience generally mild symptoms. Only a small number of cases have led to serious illness, and these have frequently been in people with significant underlying health problems.
Aston University – open as usual
We continue to welcome around 2,000 young people and parents to campus each week for events, conferences and open days and are looking forward to welcoming you back in the autumn!
Your health and welfare is extremely important to us. Like all Universities across the UK and the world, we are monitoring the situation and Aston has detailed plans in place to respond to incidents of swine flu at the University.
Birmingham – business as usual
Birmingham is as busy and exciting as ever! This summer the city hosted the International Rotary Convention, welcoming over 20,000 visitors from across the world. The Bullring shopping centre in the city centre continues to welcomes 500,000 shoppers a week. As always there are plenty of events, concerts, exhibitions and festivals going on.
Over a million people live in Birmingham and the number of swine flu cases is very low. Birmingham is not the centre of the outbreak in the UK.
International students
If you are studying in the UK for at least six months, including pre-sessional programmes which lead onto Bachelors or Masters degree, you are eligible for free medical treatment from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). If you haven't already, we encourage you to register with the University Medical Centre.
Information about swine flu is available in different languages.
Health care and treatment
If you haven't already, we encourage you to register with the University Medical Centre. You can register online before you arrive.
The University Medical Centre provides medical advice and treatment throughout your time at Aston and are well prepared to deal with cases of swine flu.
In the UK plentiful stocks of antiviral drugs are available to treat people who become ill. These are not a cure, but can help to relieve symptoms and reduce the length of the illness.
Protection against the flu
Like all colds and flu, swine flu is spread through coughing and sneezing. The best way of reducing the risk of infection is by following good, basic hygiene practices, such as using a tissue when sneezing and washing your hands regularly. More information is available on our swine flu website or you can download the NHS's swine flu leaflet (PDF).
As swine flu is a new virus, a new vaccine had to be developed to deal with it. The UK government has ordered enough vaccine for the whole population and the first batch is expected to be available by August.
Further information
You can find out more on our webpages about swine flu or by visiting the swine flu site.
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