A Kent GP has warned the public not to panic about swine flu.

Strood GP Dr Julian Spinks was speaking as The World Health Organisation (WHO) raised its alert level for swine flu up to four - only two steps under a pandemic.

But he warned it was important for officials not to rush into panic measures.

Dr Spinks said the latest WHO move was appropriate, and it was important “we treat the potential for this to become a pandemic seriously”.

~Audio: Hear Kent MP Dr Julian Spinks explain the steps to take to avoid swine flu>>>

But he added: “It’s also important that we don’t rush into panic measures straight away. We need to be certain that we’ve got flu in the community over here before we start panicking people.”

There was no sign the virus had spread from its first UK outbreak in Scotland to Kent.

However, he said, he could already see concern among his patients - some of whom feared they had caught the flu after a visit to the US.

He said: “If you think that you have been in an area which is at risk, and that you do have flu-like symptoms, then you should contact NHS Direct.”

Britain was “better prepared than we’ve ever been for any of the other pandemics that we’ve had.”

At his own practice, plans were in place to fight the spread of the virus.

Dr Spinks urged people to follow basic hygiene rules such as washing your hands regularly, and avoiding contact with people who show flu-like symptoms or with the surfaces they've touched.

Swine Flu - the facts:

• It's caused by the H1N1 strain of the influenza A virus.

• Symptoms are similar to those connected to the seasonal flu, including fever, aches, fatigue, coughing and a sore throat.

• To date, around 150 people are reported to have died from the virus in Mexico.

• There is no vaccine against swine flu. Treatment includes the drug Tamiflu, which the Government has stored to use in case of an outbreak.