The Island's public health consultant says anyone with flu-like symptoms should not go to work.

Dr Paul Emerson says there is a high chance swine flu will come to the Isle of Man and residents should do all they can do avoid spreading the illness.

Dr Emerson adds that isolated cases of swine flu are not unheard of in humans, and the mortality rate is very low.

On Talking Heads today, he said practising basic hygiene could prevent the outbreak of swine flu from becoming a pandemic:

"You catch it like you catch ordinary human flu - coughing, sneezing, touching surfaces that have the virus.

"Viruses stay alive on hard surfaces, so you touch those surfaces, put your hands on those surfaces, put your hands up to your nose, eyes, mouth and that's how you get the virus into your body.

"If you feel you've got flu - not just swine flu, but any flu - you should stay away from work until you feel better, or certainly seven days after the onset of the symptoms, because the message we've been trying to give out so far in this swine flu story is the basic hygiene principles and to practice that."