swine flu cases double in uk in 1 wk

Swine Flu Cases Almost Doubled in England, Government Says

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By Andrea Gerlin

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The number of new swine flu cases in England almost doubled in the past week to 53,000 from 27,000 the previous week, the country’s top doctor said today.

The H1N1 virus that causes swine flu has killed 122 people in the U.K., up 16 in the last week, since April, England’s Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said at a press conference. The number of people hospitalized with the illness rose to 506, including 99 in intensive care, the highest level since the pandemic began, Donaldson said.

“Over the last week we’ve seen a faster rate of increase than we’ve seen in the last few weeks,” Donaldson said.

The U.K. began its vaccination program yesterday by immunizing workers at University College London Hospital, Donaldson said. Medical personnel, pregnant women, people who have regular contact with those who have weakened immune systems, and people with underlying health conditions who usually get priority for seasonal flu shots are the first to get inoculated against swine flu.

The Department of Health may announce additional priority groups next month, Donaldson said. Businesses have asked the agency whether they can obtain vaccine to administer to their workers, he said.

“We’re not in a position yet to extend the vaccine program” to healthy people, he said.

The health department’s updated estimates suggest that 5 percent of the workforce may be absent from their jobs and 1.5 million people a week may be ill during the peak of the pandemic this winter. As many as 35,000 people could be hospitalized, 15 percent of them in intensive-care beds, placing pressure on the National Health Service into early 2010.

“What we’re starting to worry about is partly the peak that we might see this flu season, but we’re also starting to worry about the sustained pressure over the winter that the NHS might face,” Donaldson said. “The NHS has never before had a run from the middle of July right through to March or April with intensive infectious disease activity like this, not in modern times anyway.”

To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Andrea Gerlin at [email protected]