What have they done? Memories of queues for Tamiflu outside inner city chemists begin to fade, the media gives up on talk of the swine flu pandemic and H5N1 avian influenza is all but condemned to the nation’s medical history. But a new scandal is upon us- so many vaccines, so few patients and now too big a surplus.

The Sun says there are currently some 60 million unused doses of Tamiflu sitting in warehouses up and down the UK. Of the stockpiled antiviral just 4.25 million doses were handed out, with the National Pandemic Flu Service now closed for business. The statistics have caused critics to brand the government’s reaction to the worldwide outbreak ‘the great swine flu swindle’.

One of the major problems with the treatment of influenza is the virus’ ability to mutate. Whilst this is a common occurrence, and often changes are slight, major shifts happen around every 10 years. The result is often an epidemic leading to a global pandemic. The worst flu pandemic in history was the outbreak of Spanish flu in 1918, which claimed the lives of some 20 million people across the planet. Later, in 1957, Asian flu infected 50 per cent of school children in the UK, whereas the notorious though less severe Hong Kong strain- H3N2- is thought to have killed around 1 million worldwide.

One identifiable pattern in the last 100 years of influenza’s history is that pandemics would appear to be getting milder, with a greater chance of recovery in most countries, even amongst groups deemed ‘at risk’- the young, the old and the infirm. This is not to say that the potential threat posed by flu should not be taken seriously, but on average the world has better healthcare and a better understanding of how to stay fighting fit.

A healthy immune system is vital for making it through winter without the stereotypical coughs and sneezes, never mind mutant killer flu strains, so it pays to know how to achieve this. Whilst the Egyptians provided their slaves with a clove of garlic a day in order to keep the doctors away, most people already know of the bulb’s powerful properties. Sage, Hyssop and Liquorice are also good for boosting the immune system, they’re less overpowering on the breath and are commonly found in health supplements and tonics.