15 swine flu-related deaths in last week
Thursday, 03, Dec 2009 04:39
By Sarah Garrod.
There have been a further 15 swine flu-related deaths in the last week, although 'flu activity' seems to be decreasing, officials figures have shown.
Deaths in individuals with swine flu rose to 178, although the chief medical officer said it was important to remember the figure represents the number of deaths in individuals with swine flu but does not represent the number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the H1N1 virus.
There was an estimated 22,000 new cases in England over the last week, which represents a significant decrease from the week before, during which time there were 46,000 cases of the H1N1 virus diagnosed, down from 53,000 the week before that.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates a cumulative total number of cases of 790,000 since the pandemic began.
The HPA added that the disease severity continues to be monitored, but was generally mild in most people so far, proving severe in a small minority of cases.
Swine flu hospitalisations in England stood at 747 patients as of 08:00 GMT on December 2nd.