UK: Schools put on swine flu alert: As Christmas holidays end, doctors warn of a 'children's epidemic'

Excerpts

2nd January 2011

The number of intensive care patients with suspected flu has risen dramatically in the past week to 738. In some hospitals, half the adult intensive care beds are taken up by flu victims, leading to routine operations being cancelled. International evidence suggests that up to 15 per cent of those treated for swine flu in intensive care die.

If the 738 receiving treatment are suffering from swine flu, that could mean 100 more fatalities.

Hospitals are also running out of children’s intensive care beds, with seriously ill babies forced to travel up to 100miles for treatment.

Swine flu and influenza B have together claimed 39 lives since October, including 11 under-15s, four of whom were under five. Only one victim was over 65.

However, at least 15 of the recent victims were ‘healthy’, with no underlying illnesses.

The official number of cases, based on GP consultations, is 124 per 100,000 people – but doctors believe the true figure could be much higher as limited Christmas opening hours have put people off going to surgeries.

Among under-fours, the figures rise to 184 cases per 100,000. An epidemic is defined as 200 cases per 100,000.