-Heart
04-07-2009, 11:55 PM
The Health Secretary says the Government expects 100,000 new cases of swine flu to be diagnosed each day by the end of August.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Apr/Week4/15269800.jpg Tamiflu currently is being used to treat the outbreak
Andy Burnham told MPs that the figure was "a projection" but added that scientists expected a "rapid rise" in cases over the summer.
"Cases are doubling every week and on this trend we could see over 100,000 cases per day by the end of August," he said.
Mr Burnham confirmed there were now 7,447 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK and a significant number of people had been hospitalised.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Burnham said the Government had signed contracts for enough flu vaccines to cover the entire population, with 60 million doses available by the end of the year.
Mr Burnham also said the UK would move to a "treatment phase" with immediate effect meaning GPs will diagnose cases, rather than waiting for laboratory tests.
Antivirals will be offered to all who have contracted the illness with higher risk patients given priority, he said.
However, he did warn that overusing the drugs could create a drug-resistant strain of the virus.
The virus has hit a number of high-profile events in recent days including the Glastonbury music festival and the Wimbledon tennis tournament from which 28 staff members have been sent home with suspected cases.
Four people in the UK have died from swine flu but each had underlying health problems.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Apr/Week4/15269800.jpg Tamiflu currently is being used to treat the outbreak
Andy Burnham told MPs that the figure was "a projection" but added that scientists expected a "rapid rise" in cases over the summer.
"Cases are doubling every week and on this trend we could see over 100,000 cases per day by the end of August," he said.
Mr Burnham confirmed there were now 7,447 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK and a significant number of people had been hospitalised.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Burnham said the Government had signed contracts for enough flu vaccines to cover the entire population, with 60 million doses available by the end of the year.
Mr Burnham also said the UK would move to a "treatment phase" with immediate effect meaning GPs will diagnose cases, rather than waiting for laboratory tests.
Antivirals will be offered to all who have contracted the illness with higher risk patients given priority, he said.
However, he did warn that overusing the drugs could create a drug-resistant strain of the virus.
The virus has hit a number of high-profile events in recent days including the Glastonbury music festival and the Wimbledon tennis tournament from which 28 staff members have been sent home with suspected cases.
Four people in the UK have died from swine flu but each had underlying health problems.