http://www.burnleyexpress.net/latest-national-news/UK-flu-toll-hits-30.5477724.jp
UK flu toll hits 30 amid WHO alert
Published Date: 22 July 2009
The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting swine flu reached at least 30 as world health chiefs warned the virus is spreading faster than any previous flu pandemic.
A 15-year-old girl - who had underlying medical conditions - was revealed as the 30th British victim linked to the outbreak on Tuesday after she died in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.
A woman aged 51 from Lea in Wiltshire is also reported to have died after getting the virus, but the Department of Health has not yet confirmed her death.
The news came after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that more than 700 people worldwide are now thought to have died after contracting the virus. It is a huge jump from the 429 deaths reported on July 6.
In a briefing note published late last week, WHO said "further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable".
It said the current pandemic "has spread internationally with unprecedented speed".
In the UK, an estimated 55,000 people are being newly diagnosed with the virus each week.
But the Chief Medical Officer for England has said it is unlikely there would be school closures in the autumn to curb swine flu.
The issue is being kept under review, Sir Liam Donaldson said, but past experience had not shown this to be effective at controlling the virus.
"I think it would take a lot for us to move in that direction, it would be extremely disruptive to society - when would you open them again, given that flu might be around for several months," he said.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2009, All Rights Reserved.
UK flu toll hits 30 amid WHO alert
Published Date: 22 July 2009
The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting swine flu reached at least 30 as world health chiefs warned the virus is spreading faster than any previous flu pandemic.
A 15-year-old girl - who had underlying medical conditions - was revealed as the 30th British victim linked to the outbreak on Tuesday after she died in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.
A woman aged 51 from Lea in Wiltshire is also reported to have died after getting the virus, but the Department of Health has not yet confirmed her death.
The news came after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that more than 700 people worldwide are now thought to have died after contracting the virus. It is a huge jump from the 429 deaths reported on July 6.
In a briefing note published late last week, WHO said "further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable".
It said the current pandemic "has spread internationally with unprecedented speed".
In the UK, an estimated 55,000 people are being newly diagnosed with the virus each week.
But the Chief Medical Officer for England has said it is unlikely there would be school closures in the autumn to curb swine flu.
The issue is being kept under review, Sir Liam Donaldson said, but past experience had not shown this to be effective at controlling the virus.
"I think it would take a lot for us to move in that direction, it would be extremely disruptive to society - when would you open them again, given that flu might be around for several months," he said.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2009, All Rights Reserved.