Thursday 20th August 2009
By: Nursing In Practice
15 Minutes Ago
The latest swine flu patient figures are expected to show a slowing of new cases of the disease.
Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson's last update revealed there were 25,000 new cases, compared with 30,000 and 110,000 in the previous two weeks.
The number of new cases of swine flu should continue to decline while schools and universities are closed, according to experts, but numbers may rise sharply again when term time begins.
The eventual number of deaths is estimated to be between 55,000 and 750,000.
A total of 44 people in England have been confirmed as dying after contracting swine flu, while another five have died in Scotland.
Sir Liam revealed that people in priority groups would begin receiving vaccinations in October.
However, doctors have reportedly been alerted over fears that Tamiflu could put increase some patients' risk of suffering a stroke.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has raised concerns that the drug may interact with warfarin, which is taken to thin the blood.
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