real6
02-07-2009, 06:11 PM
Londoners Suffer Summer of Winter Bug as Swine Flu Cases Mount
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=agVJxlJqyTgs
July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Londoners are suffering a summer wave of influenza worse than in the last winter flu season after the H1N1 virus caused the rate of illness to quadruple last week.
Doctors reported more than 80 cases of flu-like illness per 100,000 people in London in the week ended June 28, the Royal College of General Practitioners said in a weekly report on its Web site yesterday. That exceeds the approximate 20 cases per 100,000 the previous week and the peak of 60 in winter.
“A special focus on influenza-like illness is being continued into the summer months,” the college said. “Particularly high rates of incidence were recorded in some practices in Birmingham and London.”
Confirmed cases of the new H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, in the British capital more than doubled to 1,794 yesterday from a week earlier, the Health Protection Agency said. The pandemic bug is transmitted more easily than seasonal flu among people younger than 50 because no one has natural immunity against it.
In England and Wales, there were 29.6 cases of flu-like illnesses per 100,000 people last week, the college said. That compares with 11.4 per 100,000 the previous week and 6.5 the week before that.
The incidence of flu was highest in people aged 5 to 14 years and in the central and southern regions, the college said. Rates of 30 to 100 are usual when seasonal flu is circulating. Rates exceeding 100 represent above-average influenza activity and are “exceptional” when above 200, it said.
Winter Bug
Influenza is more common in winter because virus particles persist longer in the air during colder, drier weather. The bug is also transmitted more easily in winter because people tend to stay close together indoors.
The World Health Organization said the pandemic virus has infected 77,201 people in more than 90 countries, killing 332 of them, since its discovery in Mexico and the U.S. in April.
Transmission of the bug, which causes little more than a fever and cough in most cases, is likely to accelerate as the flu season begins in the Southern Hemisphere and again when it returns in the Northern Hemisphere, the World Bank said in a report last week. As many as 1.5 million people die in a normal flu season worldwide, and even a mild new flu might add another 1.4 million deaths, the Washington-based lender said.
In the southern region, the incidence of flu-like illness last week was about four times higher than the 10-year average for summer, according to the college’s report. Flu typically peaks in England in January, and the rate reported for the southern region by the college’s flu surveillance network, comprising 420 doctors, was the highest in five months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=agVJxlJqyTgs
July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Londoners are suffering a summer wave of influenza worse than in the last winter flu season after the H1N1 virus caused the rate of illness to quadruple last week.
Doctors reported more than 80 cases of flu-like illness per 100,000 people in London in the week ended June 28, the Royal College of General Practitioners said in a weekly report on its Web site yesterday. That exceeds the approximate 20 cases per 100,000 the previous week and the peak of 60 in winter.
“A special focus on influenza-like illness is being continued into the summer months,” the college said. “Particularly high rates of incidence were recorded in some practices in Birmingham and London.”
Confirmed cases of the new H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, in the British capital more than doubled to 1,794 yesterday from a week earlier, the Health Protection Agency said. The pandemic bug is transmitted more easily than seasonal flu among people younger than 50 because no one has natural immunity against it.
In England and Wales, there were 29.6 cases of flu-like illnesses per 100,000 people last week, the college said. That compares with 11.4 per 100,000 the previous week and 6.5 the week before that.
The incidence of flu was highest in people aged 5 to 14 years and in the central and southern regions, the college said. Rates of 30 to 100 are usual when seasonal flu is circulating. Rates exceeding 100 represent above-average influenza activity and are “exceptional” when above 200, it said.
Winter Bug
Influenza is more common in winter because virus particles persist longer in the air during colder, drier weather. The bug is also transmitted more easily in winter because people tend to stay close together indoors.
The World Health Organization said the pandemic virus has infected 77,201 people in more than 90 countries, killing 332 of them, since its discovery in Mexico and the U.S. in April.
Transmission of the bug, which causes little more than a fever and cough in most cases, is likely to accelerate as the flu season begins in the Southern Hemisphere and again when it returns in the Northern Hemisphere, the World Bank said in a report last week. As many as 1.5 million people die in a normal flu season worldwide, and even a mild new flu might add another 1.4 million deaths, the Washington-based lender said.
In the southern region, the incidence of flu-like illness last week was about four times higher than the 10-year average for summer, according to the college’s report. Flu typically peaks in England in January, and the rate reported for the southern region by the college’s flu surveillance network, comprising 420 doctors, was the highest in five months.