Britain admits it cannot contain swine flu

SWINE flu cannot be contained and the number of new cases could reach 100,000 a day by the end of next month, the British government has said.

Britain has moved past the stage of containing the outbreak and into the “treatment phase”, Health Secretary Andy Burnham said.

“We have reached the next step in our management of the disease,” he told the House of Commons. “Our national focus will be on treating the increasing numbers affected by swine flu.

“We will move to this treatment phase across Britain with immediate effect.”

There are 7,447 laboratory-confirmed cases in Britain after a “considerable rise” last week.

Three people – who all had underlying health problems – have died after contracting the virus.

Burnham said: “Cases are doubling every week and on this trend we could see over 100,000 cases per day by the end of August.”

The government has signed contracts to secure enough vaccine for the whole population, he told MPs. The first will become available next month, with enough for 30 million people to be vaccinated by the end of the year.