Health Minister Walter Roban yesterday insisted that officials have a plan to ensure schools are equipped to deal with a second wave of swine flu — but he did not reveal what it was.

The Minister said in a statement that an increase in cases of influenza A (also known as H1N1) was expected this autumn but that there was no evidence that the virus had mutated to a more virulent or lethal form.

He said the strain, different from seasonal flu, seemed to affect younger people to a greater extent. Bermuda has so far had nine confirmed cases of influenza A.

Mr. Roban added that his Ministry would hold a press conference next week, once the new public school term has begun, to "discuss the possible impact of the second wave and the steps being taken to assist Bermuda to respond to it".

Last night, Opposition MPs said that wasn't good enough. Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said the public should have been advised of the plan for schools well in advance of the new term.

"It's much more serious with the younger population," he said.

"It tends to move very, very quickly. They need a plan for teachers and parents. It seems to be pretty contagious and affects younger people."

Dr. Gibbons asked: "Are there going to be hand sanitisers available [in schools]? If there's a high prevalence of flu, will they shut the school? What happens if teachers get affected? What's planned? Are they ready? What's the plan?"

Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said: "I'm concerned about the fact that the Ministry of Health has not issued the Country a plan. I know that they have a pandemic plan but I would like to see what they have prepared for the schools.

"Some private schools are in session now and some of the schools do have plans and some seem not to. I'm also interested in whether they will be issuing broader statements for the general public.

"Now that we have nine cases, it's just a matter of time before we have many more. It would be comforting to the country to have some idea of what the plans are."

Mr. Roban's statement noted that H1N1 is now the dominant flu virus in the US, UK, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil, with 209,438 laboratory confirmed cases and 2,185 deaths reported to the World Health Organization.

The Minister said: "Influenza epidemics cannot be prevented but planning and preparation are keys to mitigating the impacts. The Government has had a pandemic plan in place for a few years and this was developed in response to the outbreak of the avian flu.

"The plan was activated at the outbreak of influenza A in April and there has been ongoing communication from that point with schools and education officials regarding reporting and response to any outbreaks."

He added: "It is anticipated that in the fall, we will see an increase in cases. As a result, Ministry of Health and Education officials have been reviewing Education's pandemic plan and ensuring the protocols necessary for decisions to be taken, in the event we see outbreaks among our school population."

The H1N1 virus was originally referred to as swine flu because lab tests showed many of the genes were similar to influenza viruses normally occurring in pigs in North America, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Further study has shown that the new virus is different to that normally occurring in North American pigs, but that it does have two genes from flu viruses common in pigs in Europe and Asia.