As swine flu threatens Britain, the public will be alarmed to hear that there has been at least one reported incident of Muslim National Health Service staff refusing to use alcohol-based hand gels which are vital in containing the virus.

The Muslims, employed by St Albans Council in Hertfordshire, complained about the antibacterial lotion, saying the Koran bans them from consuming or coming into touch with alcohol.

Politically correct madmen at that council then issued them with non-alcohol hand gels which have been proven to be less effective in killing bugs.

So far 31 people have died from swine flu in Britain and there are an estimated 31,000 confirmed infections. Unconfirmed reports say the infection is reaching another 55,000 people every week.

According to the BBC, a St Albans council spokesman said that following the complaints, “two members of staff asked for alcohol-free hand gels and these were provided in May and the Equalities Officer was informed of this.”

* In February 2008, NHS officials were forced into crisis talks with Muslim medical staff who objected to new hygiene rules aimed at helping tackle superbugs.

Female Muslim medical students at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool objected to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands and removing arm coverings in theatre, claiming it was “immodest.”

Similar concerns were raised at Leicester University, while at Sheffield University a case was reported of a Muslim medic refusing to wash her arms prior to theatre because it left her forearms exposed.

Dr Steve Ryan, medical director at Alder Hey, was quoted as saying that the “bare below the elbows” dress code is a matter of patient safety. The new Department of Health guidance was introduced in a bid to restrict the spread of potentially fatal infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

“We specify bare below elbows, no wrist watches, nail varnish or false nails in clinical areas. Good hand hygiene is one of the most important and simplest actions we can take to prevent healthcare associated infections,” Dr Ryan said.

The Islamic Medical Association insisted that covering all the body in public, except the face and hands, was a basic tenet of Islam. It said: “No practising Muslim woman — doctor, medical student, nurse or patient — should be forced to bare her arms below the elbow.”