Incidence of swine flu in England continues to fall, but winter surge is predicted

The number of new cases of A/H1N1 influenza reported in England continues to fall, but the government forecasts a sharp rise in cases during the winter months. The number of new cases of swine flu in the week ending 16 August was estimated to be 11 000, a substantial reduction on the figure of 110 000 new cases that the government estimated at the end of July.

GP consultation rates for flu-like illness are also continuing to fall, as is the number of calls to the National Pandemic Flu Service hotline.

Since …