London: Fears of a swine flu epidemic have grown after figures revealed the number of seriously ill patients being treated in hospital for influenza has surged by 250 per cent in a week in the worst outbreak for 20 years.
Eighteen adults and nine children have died from flu this winter.
Some hospital trusts are starting to cancel operations to leave beds empty to make way for a surge in flu cases, with one leading Department of Health official warning of potential shortages in the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
The Department of Health figures reveal the extent of the worsening crisis and show that the number of critical care beds being used by flu patients has risen by more than half in three days.
On Friday, the Government confirmed there were 460 patients with suspected or confirmed flu in hospitals across England, compared with 302 on Tuesday and 182 at the end of last week.
Younger patients
Normally the worst cases of flu are seen in those over the age of 65. But the vast majority this year, 366, are patients aged between 16 and 64, while 43 are children, with 26 below the age of five.
It is not known how many of these cases are swine flu, but the virus is the dominant flu strain this winter and it is expected that most will have the H1N1 virus.
The Health Protection Agency has said that so far this winter, nine children and 18 adults have died of flu. However, the official figures represent a small proportion of cases being treated in hospital because data is not collected on the number of flu patients on ordinary wards.
Doctors have described the stark increase in cases as unprecedented, with some calling it the worst flu outbreak for more than two decades.
Experts have warned the situation will get worse. The country's leading virologist, Professor John Oxford, said: "I wish I could be optimistic about this outbreak, but I have an uneasy, restless feeling. Swine flu is the biggest virus on the block and there are plenty of people still to infect."
Shadow Health Secretary John Healey blamed Health Secretary Andrew Lansley for worsening the crisis by failing to advertise the seasonal flu vaccine, which offers protection against swine flu.
"The Health Secretary made the wrong judgment, which has left many people without the flu protection they should have," said Healey.
"He should authorise an immediate campaign to encourage those most at risk to get the jab."
Some intensive care wards, and particularly those for children, are already reaching full capacity.
The NHS in England has about 3,500 critical care beds and some trusts are cancelling operations to make way for a surge in flu cases. Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Richard Firmin, of Leicester's Glenfield Hospital, said: "If the numbers in intensive care keep going up, we'll need further capacity and we're running very close to the edge."
