Following a decrease in swine flu cases, the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) will be closed down on Thursday.

After the Department of Health (DoH) announced the disease since the outbreak of the virus was at its lowest level, the Swine Flu phone line and website set up for dealing with the outbreak is to be shut down, as there has been a huge decline in the number of people requesting anti-viral medication via the NPFS.

However, there are still 124 patients quarantined in hospital, 29 of which are in critical care.

Dr Karthik Paranthaman, Acting Public Health Consultant with NHS Buckinghamshire, said the situation was being closely monitored and appropriate arrangements made for the transition.

In the absence of NPFS, the NHS Direct or any GP was to be contacted for advice, in case of any suspected swine flu case. Those with flu like symptoms could get anti-viral drugs through their GPs.

According to global health officials, though H1N1 swine flu was in circulation worldwide, it seems to be on the decline everywhere, with the World Health Organization reporting the appearance of certain seasonal strains in China and Africa.

While, USA was the hardest hit country, a Harvard School of Public Health poll released Friday indicated most Americans seemed unconcerned, with many rejecting the vaccine for the H1N1 virus, in the belief that the outbreak is over.

However, Dr. Anne Schuchat from the U. S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters, the pandemic was not yet over, with H1N1 killing nine more children last week. CDC estimates 80 million Americans to have caught the infection and about 11,000 to have died of it.

According to Schuchat, the U. S. government has been left with millions of unused doses of the H1N1 virus vaccine, as only 70 million Americans opted for the vaccination, while the government was shipped 155 million vaccine doses, with another 229 million ordered from five drug manufacturers, namely, AstraZeneca’s unit MedImmune, Sanofi Aventis, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and CSL.

Schuchat is urging Americans to get vaccinated now when it is easier, after severe shortages of the vaccine last year.