U.S. government to advise businesses on swine flu

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 - U.S. government officials plan to release guidance on Wednesday for businesses seeking advice on how to deal with the swine flu pandemic.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a joint news conference to advise employers and businesses.

The new H1N1 influenza virus has caused the first pandemic of the 21st century and is spreading out of control, according to the World Health Organization. When the northern hemisphere's autumn weather sets in it is expected to worsen.

Although most cases are mild to moderate, H1N1 appears to be about as deadly as seasonal flu, which kills about 36,000 people a year in the United States and 250,000 to 500,000 globally.

But the new H1N1 affects younger people than seasonal flu and the majority of the population has no immunity. World Health Organization officials predict up to 2 billion people will eventually be infected -- which could raise the overall number of deaths over an average flu season even if the virus itself is not especially pathogenic.

U.S. officials have issued guidance for vaccinations and for schools. The government says healthcare workers, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases such as asthma should get immunized first as the H1N1 vaccine becomes available.

The guidance from HHS and the Department of Education suggests schools should not close unless many students and staff become sick. It stresses that people who are sick should stay home until 24 hours after the fever subsides and they feel better.

Clinical trials of the H1N1 vaccine are under way, and five companies are making it for the U.S. market -- AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit, CSL, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Novartis AG and Sanofi-Aventis SA.

The United States would need 600 million doses to immunize all those needing the H1N1 vaccine, as people will need two doses for full immunity. HHS says 45 million doses of the new vaccine will be on hand in mid-October, when mass vaccination is planned.

HHS has also bought 84 million courses of Roche AG's Tamiflu and Glaxo's Relenza, drugs used to treat swine flu, with a total of 100 million treatment courses to be available in the autumn.