HITCHIN, England, September 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'Impact of Flu in the Workplace' conference is bringing together, for the first time, leading experts from occupational health, medicine and the NHS to review the value of flu vaccination undertaken by employers as well as providing an update on related issue such as the overall risk of pandemic flu and its impact to the UK workforce.

Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal College of London will be joined by Professor David Colin-Thome, National Clinical Director for Primary Care and Dr John Cooper, Head of Corporate Occupational Health at Unilever, to discuss the success of the National Health Service (NHS) programme over the past decade in protecting vulnerable patients from flu and exploring strategies for exporting key findings from this programme into the work place.

Dr Bill Holmes, Medical Director for European Vaccination Group (EVG) UK Ltd, explains: "This is a vital, exciting and timely conference. 'Flu' is often a term too freely banded about. It must be remembered that influenza can be a serious illness and is responsible for over a million days of office absence. The human cost of the illness and the economic burden can be reduced through employers providing a flu vaccination service for their workforce."

Last month a government report found that a flu pandemic poses a greater threat to the UK than terrorism. Increasing the uptake of seasonal flu vaccinations may also help reduce the risk of a flu pandemic. Speaking at the inaugural conference of EVG (UK) Limited, John Oxford, Professor of Virology and St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital, will say: "A flu pandemic would be disastrous. A UK wide seasonal flu vaccination programme in the workplace could play a useful role in alleviating the effects a flu pandemic in the UK."

Last year in England the NHS vaccinated 74% of over 65s and 45% of other 'at risk' groups under 65. However, there are 38 million people in the UK workforce between the ages of 16 and 65, of which very few are part of the NHS "at risk" population, but only about 500,000 of the working population are currently provided with a vaccination in their workplace.

For more information about the 'Impact of Flu in the Workplace' conference or the work of EVG (UK) Ltd, visit: http://www.flufighters.org.uk

Satinder Phull, OgilvyHealthPR, T: +44(0)20-7108-6063, E: satinder.phull@ohpr.com .