The US Government has enlisted a new weapon in its fight against swine flu: Elmo the muppet.

Sesame Street’s inhabitants are spreading flu prevention tips to young children in online videos. Officials on both side of the Atlantic have warned of a likely resurgence of H1N1 flu as pupils return to school and the weather gets colder.

Elmo tells children to wash their hands and sneeze into their elbows. The Mexican version of the show, Plaza Sesamo, ran a similar campaign.

Lets hope Elmo doesn’t go the same way as David McCusker, who appeared in the UK adverts, and then fell victim to swine flu.