Surge In Confirmed Swine Flu Cases – UK

More than 500 further cases of swine flu have been confirmed in England, health officials said.

The new cases included 225 in London and 158 in the West Midlands – two of the main hotspots – and took the total number of cases in England to 3,364, the Health Protection Agency said.

The rise came as officials announced that London and the West Midlands would now adopt a policy of outbreak management, with swine flu cases being clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory results.A further 76 confirmed cases elsewhere in the UK took the overall total to 4,323.

These included 72 new cases in Scotland, taking the total to 922, three in Wales, taking the country’s total to 12, and another in Northern Ireland, making a total of 25 there.

On Thursday, health officials said they could no longer contain the virus in parts of the UK.

The West Midlands now has a total of 1,516 cases – more than a third of all cases in the UK – while London has 985, more than a fifth of the UK total.

Both hotspots are adopting a policy of outbreak management, meaning new swine flu cases will be clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory results.

The new policy means swabbing will take place only for a small number of cases to keep track of the strength of the virus.

Doctors will also use the drug Tamiflu more selectively, targeting only people with symptoms.

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson stressed that many parts of the country were still in the containment phase, but warned there could be “tens of thousands of cases” of swine flu each week by the autumn because the virus is more likely to thrive in the colder months.