HPA reports 10 deaths in UK from H1N1 flu in past six weeks

Ten people have died as a result of H1N1 (2009) influenza—the virus previously known as swine flu—in the United Kingdom over the past six weeks, in addition to two deaths from influenza B, show the latest figures from the Health Protection Agency.

All who died were adults aged younger than 65 years. Most had underlying health conditions, although a few were healthy, said John Watson, head of the agency’s respiratory diseases department. No pregnant women were among those who died; this group showed an excess number of deaths in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

In the five fatal cases for which vaccination information was available, none of the people had received the 2010-11 seasonal flu vaccine or the 2009 monovalent pandemic flu vaccine.

“Over the last few weeks we have seen a rise in the number of cases of seasonal flu, including both …