More flu deaths

Flu has now killed 254 people since October – but is now declining.

H1N1 ‘swine’ flu is the predominant cause, with Influenza B also a predominant strain.

The Health Protection Agency said that i n the past week, the number of GP consultations in England fell to 66.5 per 100,000, down from 108.4 per 100,000 the previous week.

Vaccine uptake among under 65s in a clinical ‘at risk’ group has reached 48 per cent.

Uptake among the over 65s – who are routinely offered the vaccine – is 71.7 per cent.

The HPA reiterated that the apparent spike in flu deaths – up 142 on last week – is because of delays in reporting from over the Christmas period, rather than a sudden jump in deaths. A typical flu season can see anything from 0 to 5,000 deaths, mostly among the elderly.

Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, said: “Our latest flu report suggests levels of flu are declining across the UK but nonetheless flu is still circulating in the community and the message remains that people in an at-risk group should get the seasonal flu vaccine – it’s not too late to protect yourself from flu this season. 

“Ongoing HPA surveillance continues to indicate a modest increase in cases of some invasive bacterial infections such as pneumococcal and meningococcal disease and invasive Group A streptococcal Infection (iGAS) which may follow on from or be associated with influenza. Although we expect to see more cases of these bacterial infections during the winter months the HPA is monitoring the situation closely and currently investigating whether co-infection with flu is contributing to these increases.