The government has warned the public not to buy swine-flue drugs over the internet.

According to the chief medical officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, said that the UK had a large stockpile of Tamiflu, the drug used to treat the H1N1 infection.

Speaking on GMTV, he claimed there was no need for people to purchase the drug online and warned that people doing so could end up with ineffective, counterfeit medicine.

Meanwihle, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's director of policy David Pruce told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Counterfeiters are very good at producing goods that look like the genuine article. When it's counterfeit medicines and you've got really no idea what's in the tablet or the capsule, you're taking your life in your hands."

The experts comments came after Andy Burnham, the current health secretary, told MPs that swine-flu could no longer be contained.

In related news, the Welsh Assembly is in the midst of a dispute with the Treasury over who should pay for the country's swine-flu vaccination programme.