By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

A PERSISTENT viral infection continues to hang about, causing misery amongst the Tayside population.

Struggling herself with a troublesome cough NHS Tayside’s out-of-hours medical director Dr Joyce Meikle said last night there was no flu outbreak locally.

“It is just viral infection we are coping with,” she said. “It has been a persistent one. People are reporting coughing for longer than average.”

As well as having responsibility for Tayside’s out-of-hours service, where people get help when GP surgeries are closed, Dr Meikle is also a part-time GP in Downfield Surgery, Dundee.

“A lot of people are saying that folk are off work with this infection,” said Dr Meikle, who helped provide medical cover in the primary care emergency centre at Wallacetown Health Centre in Dundee when GP surgeries closed for the festive period.

“It seems to be hitting the younger, healthier population. I would say we have probably seen more of the young adult population than perhaps we would normally.”

For most people a trip to the doctor is unnecessary when fighting off a viral infection. The advice is these infections are “self-limiting” and will get better in time. In the meantime sufferers can self-medicate with cold remedies from the local pharmacy and take plenty of fluids.

GP surgeries re-opened yesterday after a four-day shutdown for New Year. Dr Meikle said the New Year shutdown was busier than the four-day shutdown over Christmas and was busier than the four-day New Year break last year.

The total number of people seen by emergency primary care staff across Tayside during the most recent shutdown was 2513, up from 2255 last year.

“In Dundee we were up from a total of 898 last year to 1019 this year,” said Dr Meikle. “In Perth and rural Perthshire the numbers were up slightly from 686 last year to 717 this year. Angus saw 671 patients last year compared to 777 this year.

“We were very busy but we coped.”