UK: Flu deaths continue to rise

30 December 2010

Number of victims of this year's outbreak up to 39 from 27 last week, forcing government to adopt new preventative measures

The government has been forced to take new steps to tackle seasonal flu after new figures showed there were 12 more deaths in the past week, and 738 people seriously ill in hospital.

The total number of deaths from this winter's outbreak now stands at 39, up from 27 last week, the Health Protection Agency confirmed.

Of those, 36 died from H1N1 swine flu, which is the most virulent of the two main flu strains circulating this winter. The other three died from Influenza B. All but one of the 39 was under 65, and four were under five years old.

The government will now reintroduce a media campaign to help tackle the outbreak. Labour, which earlier this week claimed the campaign had been axed, accused the government of a U-turn.

Some 61% of this year's victims were in one of the "at risk" groups who qualify for a free NHS seasonal flu jab, which include pregnant women, those with breathing conditions such as asthma and those whose immune systems are weak.

But just two of the 23 individuals had received the jab, which for the first time this year includes protection against swine flu, which claimed hundreds of lives when it began circulating in the UK in early 2009.

The figure serves to underline doctors' concerns that millions of people run the risk of infection, with potentially serious effects, because they have not been vaccinated.

The number of people with known or suspected flu being treated in critical care units in hospitals has jumped from 460 to 738 - a rise of 278 in a week.

Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, has decided to reinstate the Catch It, Bin It, Kill It campaign, urging the public to improve personal hygiene, which was dropped after being used during last year's swine flu epidemic.

The campaign, which cost £609,000 last year, will resume with national newspaper and radio advertisements on Saturday.

The shadow health secretary, John Healey, said: "Andrew Lansley made a serious misjudgment when he axed the autumn advertising campaign to help public understanding of flu and boost vaccinations. But I welcome this U-turn, as late in the day as it will appear to many people."

The Department of Health (DoH) has also asked the government's advisers on vaccination to review whether the flu immunisation policy – which Labour criticised this week for excluding under-fives from those offered jabs – is up to the task of helping to control the current outbreak. A statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is likely to lead to changes, is expected later.

Professor John Watson, the head of the respiratory diseases department at the Health Protection Agency, said: "We are seeing a large amount of flu circulating across the country and would urge those people in an at-risk group to have their seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible as this is the best way to protect themselves from flu this winter.

"Although there were reports of many people during the pandemic only experiencing mild disease we can't stress enough that flu can be an extremely serious illness for people in 'at risk' groups, including pregnant women, the elderly and those with other underlying conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, lung, liver or renal diseases and those who have weakened immune systems."

He said most people with flu should take plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids and take over-the-counter pain relievers such as paracetamol, but that anyone displaying severe symptoms, particularly those in vulnerable groups, should contact their GP or local out-of-hours service for medical advice.

"It is important that people do all they can to reduce the spread of the virus and they can do this by maintaining good cough and hand hygiene, such as covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough and sneeze, disposing of the tissue as soon as possible and cleaning your hands as soon you can. These are all important actions that can help prevent the spread of germs and reduce the risk of flu transmission," he said.