109 new swine flu cases confirmed in West Midlands
Another 109 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the West Midlands over the weekend.
The total number of cases in the region now stands at 354, according to a spokeswoman for the West Midlands Health Protection Agency.
Saturday’s cases (70) are believed to be the biggest jump in any one day in England and Wales and they came a day after a fifth city school was closed by the outbreak.
Anglesey Primary School, in Anglesey Street, Lozells, closed on Friday as the virus spread further.
Last week, Birchfield Community School, Heathfield Primary School and St James School in Handsworth and Darul Uloom Islamic High School closed after having cases.
A spokeswoman for the HPA said: “It’s entirely predictable to get more numbers because all you can ever do is try and slow down the spread and there are signs this has been working.”
She said the increased number of cases means the agency can no longer give detailed information regarding each new case.
People “should not panic” about pandemic swine flu, health secretary Andy Burnham said as the number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 1,226.
He said 28 people in the UK had been admitted to hospital but most had made a “full and fast” recovery. He told MPs there had been “significant increases” in recent days in the number of new cases in certain parts of the UK, most notably Scotland.
