Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Swine flu in 'second wave' rise
01/10/2009 18:26
The number of doctors' appointments in Northern Ireland for flu-like illness has hit a nine-year high because of swine flu, it has been revealed.
The tally of GP consultations rose this week to about two in every thousand people, with rates highest among those aged 5-14.
Out-of-hours calls have also increased for the fourth week in a row.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said care services continued to cope well despite the increased demand.
"The ongoing increase in swine flu activity suggests that we are in a second wave. This is something we are monitoring closely," he said.
There were 61 new cases of laboratory confirmed swine flu, the highest weekly number reported to date. There were a total of 336 confirmed cases to the end of September.
Anti-viral prescriptions increased to 831 compared to 571 the previous week. A total of 10,623 had been issued by late last month.
There have been 167 swine flu hospitalisations and two deaths.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newsw...l&template=/news/feeds/story-template-pa.html
01/10/2009 18:26
The number of doctors' appointments in Northern Ireland for flu-like illness has hit a nine-year high because of swine flu, it has been revealed.
The tally of GP consultations rose this week to about two in every thousand people, with rates highest among those aged 5-14.
Out-of-hours calls have also increased for the fourth week in a row.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said care services continued to cope well despite the increased demand.
"The ongoing increase in swine flu activity suggests that we are in a second wave. This is something we are monitoring closely," he said.
There were 61 new cases of laboratory confirmed swine flu, the highest weekly number reported to date. There were a total of 336 confirmed cases to the end of September.
Anti-viral prescriptions increased to 831 compared to 571 the previous week. A total of 10,623 had been issued by late last month.
There have been 167 swine flu hospitalisations and two deaths.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newsw...l&template=/news/feeds/story-template-pa.html