The volunteers will be visited at home every day for about 10 days by doctors and nurses who are part of the research team. Each visit lasts about half an hour, during which time the patients will have a nose swab taken and swabs will also be taken from some of the surfaces around their home.
Dr Ben Killingley said: “By volunteering to take part in this research patients suffering from the early signs of Swine flu will contribute to furthering our knowledge about the virus which may lead to fewer people becoming infected in the future.”
Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency estimate that there were 53,000 new cases of Swine Flu in England last week — a 96 per cent increase on the previous weeks increase. Although the disease is generally mild in most people so far, it is proving severe in a small minority of cases.
According to the HPA just over 500 people were in hospital last week and there had been 93 deaths related to Swine flu in England.
Professor Van Tam said: “Very little is currently known about the H1N1 virus which makes predicating the number of people likely to catch it and how best to treat them very hard. For example we do not know how long the virus is excreted by infected humans and how much virus is spread to surfaces and carried in the air.”
Anyone who lives in Nottingham who would like to volunteer for the study should contact the research team on 0115 823 1813 for more information.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to RAE 2008, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranks the University 7th in the UK by research power. In 27 subject areas, the University features in the UK Top Ten, with 14 of those in the Top Five.
The University provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's “only truly global university”, it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy), and was named ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2008.
Nottingham was designated as a Science City in 2005 in recognition of its rich scientific heritage, industrial base and role as a leading research centre. Nottingham has since embarked on a wide range of business, property, knowledge transfer and educational initiatives (www.science-city.co.uk) in order to build on its growing reputation as an international centre of scientific excellence. The University of Nottingham is a partner in Nottingham: the Science City.