UK swine flu death toll hits 59, but fewer go to doctor with symptoms of virus

Published on Thursday 20 August 2009 22:01

SWINE flu deaths in the UK have increased by ten to 59 in the past week, figures showed yesterday.

All ten deaths were reported in England, where 54 people have now died, while Scotland's toll remained unchanged at five. The number of people going to their GP with flu-like symptoms fell in both Scotland and England last week.

Health Protection Scotland estimated that 3,030 people had contracted the virus, down from 3,100 the previous week.

The number of hospital admissions since the start of the outbreak in Scotland now stands at 114, with 20 people admitted last week. Nine patients remain in hospital.

The number of people seeing their doctor with symptoms of flu-like illnesses, including swine flu, fell from 44.4 to 37.9 per 100,000 people. The rate was highest in Tayside, at 96.

There were 11,000 new cases in England in the past week – down from 25,000 the week before.

Sir Liam Donaldson, England's chief medical officer said it was "virtually impossible" to predict when a second wave of swine flu would strike, but he expected figures to rise in the autumn.