At least 2 people have died of meningitis when their symptoms were mis-diagnosed as being those of swine flu.
Meninigitis can have the same symptoms as flu, including cold hands and feet along with aching limbs. As cases of the illness rise in the autumn, careful diagnosis of both illnesses needs to be undertaken, particulalry as under five year olds tend to deteriorate quickly with Meningitis.
With this new information being brought to light, I do wonder whether it is right to have all the diagnosis control given to those manning the swine flu phone line. A lot of press has been given to the argument of too much Tamiflu being dished out to those who only have a cold, but what about those people who genuinely have more life threatening illnesses which are going under the radar?
Tags: government, swine flu
