OK this starts to sound bad but

In Birmingham UK there has been an out break in a school 40 children, very true. and my wife came home the other day to tell me one of the girls at her work has been taken down with.... you guessed it Swine Flue...

Now I feel really bad and the wife too (do I have it too)..

I cant have time off from work there are gping to be redundancies - what the hell can I do - I dont want to be one of them.....

I'm pretty sure your boss would rather you get checked out than infect the entire building.

I think that if I did I wouldnt have a job to go back to....

If they'd rather have you die and infect the rest of the company with a highly contagious disease, it doesn't sound like a job worth keeping.

It's illegal to select an individual for redundancy for something like this.

The flu-like symptoms are accompanied by a fever.  Contrary to the press hype, it's really no more severe than any other flu strain.  Thousands die from the usual seasonal flu strains each year but that doesn't make the headlines, whereas the mortality rate figures for this strain are being constantly revised *downward*.

Assuming you do have it and your bad feeling isn't just psychosomatic, the incubation period is 5-7 days and will present as the usual flu like symptoms combined with a fever and posssible nausea.  Current advice is to call the NHS helpline if you think you are presenting these symptoms, rather than go to the local surgery and spread it around.

Every country is different. But in Australia we are in a class 5 alert. If we have flu like symptoms we are has to stay at home, call the GP (local doc), inform your work place.
BTW this strain of H1N1 does not appear to be particularly bad. However it is of a strain that has previously undergone a mutation that became very virulent. That is the concern.
Haven't heard the creationists entering debates about evolution of flu strains.

Take care and look after your health.

Love
Cindy

Cindy, if the creationists did come in they would call that an example of "micro evolution" (they're the only ones who use this term). I can't stand that crap.

I also reside in the UK but am currently in Panama working on a project. It hasn't affected anyone here yet. Although there was a rumor going around that a kid at the freshman/sophomore building went home with a mask.

There are also about 5 possible cases in the province where I am, and 4 of them are in the nearest big city. There's a high school that's closed for a week just as a precaution and a ton of elementary and private schools near the HS that are closing.

I agree with finewine, call the NHS if you think you have it.

If you have it (or think you have it), you've got to stay home.
As someone else pointed out, it would be illegal for you to get fired for doing so.

I must admit i dont think that I have corght this swine flu thing, I just have a nasty cold which is bugging me but you can aprecciate why people panic. The thing is you can see  how and why this thing is spreading, people in the uk are frightened to take time off work.