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Swine flu rise 'suggests upturn' Swine flu 'on the way back'
(10 minutes later)
The number of swine flu cases last week in England was an estimated 5,000 - a 2,000 rise - suggesting an upturn is on the way, the government says. Swine flu looks to be on its way back, according to Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson.
Chief medical officer for England Sir Liam Donaldson said it was "one of the few straws in the wind that we might be seeing an upturn". Figures showed that there were 5,000 new cases in England last week - up from 3,000. The rest of the UK has also seen an increase in infections.
A second wave of swine flu had been predicted to hit the UK in the winter months following a summer lull. Most of the rise is accounted for by school children with six schools reporting suspected outbreaks.
It was also reported Scotland had seen a "marked increase" in cases. It is the first increase since the end of July, but the levels are still below what would be expected in a bad winter.
There are now 143 people in hospital with swine flu in England. A second wave of swine flu had been predicted to hit the UK in the winter months following the summer lull.
One person has died in England this week from the virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 67. 'Coming back'
Scotland's Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon also revealed Scotland had seen a "marked increase" in the number of GP visits for flu-like symptoms across that country in the last two weeks. Sir Liam Donaldson, England's chief medical officer, said this now appeared to be happening.
She also said a ninth person had died in Scotland due to swine flu. He added: "It does begin to suggest swine flu is coming back.
"We would naturally have hoped for a bit more breathing space before it started again."
He said the rise showed why it was important to get the vaccination programme under way quickly.
A deal has now been agreed with GPs, meaning the UK will be ready to roll out the programme as soon as regulators license the jab.
This is likely to happen in early October.
The number of deaths in the UK has also risen to 79 - four more than last week - with more than 150 people in hospital because of the virus.
Meanwhile, the Health Protection Agency has reported one confirmed case and one possible case of anti-resistance to the flu drug Tamiflu.
There has been less than 30 cases like this worldwide with experts monitoring them for signs that the virus is mutating.
However, both of the UK cases showed no signs of passing the virus on so officials said they were not overly concerned.