Midland swine flu cases continue to rise

Oct 9 2009 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

NUMBERS of people in the Midlands affected by swine flu has surged for the second week in a row, with GP consultation rates now higher than the national average.

The past week has seen 82 people admitted to hospital with the H1N1 virus, compared with 69 the previous week.

Numbers of patients seeing their GP for flu-like illnesses rose from 23.2 per 100,000 people to 29.5 in a week, above the England average of 28.5. Nearly 64,000 Midlanders have now collected anti-virals since collection points were set up.

Dr Rashmi Shukla, regional director of public health, said there had been no further deaths related to swine flu in the West Midlands but urged people to heed messages including washing hands and throwing away tissues.