Surge in swine flu as cases hit 133

THE swine flu virus has reached its most virulent period yet since arriving in Ireland, with 29 people being infected since Friday evening.

The latest Department of Health figures have confirmed the major jump in infections, with 14 people contracting the virus yesterday alone.

While the total number of infections stood at 104 on Friday, when department officials confirmed they were unable to contain the spread of the infection, by yesterday evening the figure had increased to 133, with nine in-country transmissions of the virus.

News of the virus surge comes after health officials in Britain confirmed a six-year-old girl and a GP have become the 16th and 17th people to die from swine flu in the jurisdiction just days after the first death in Britain unrelated to underlying health issues. Tests on the bodies of Chloe Buckley, from north-west London, and Dr Michael Day, from Bedfordshire, confirmed they died as a result of the virus on Thursday and Saturday respectively.

However, it is not yet clear whether either individual was suffering from underlying health issues.

Sara Benn, headmaster at the six-year-old girl’s St Catherine’s School in West Drayton in north-west London, said it was “impossible” to explain the grief over her death.

“It is impossible to put into words the sorrow that the whole school feels in such tragic circumstances,” said Ms Benn.

“Chloe was a bright and tenacious student with a keen interest in sports. She will be missed by her fellow pupils and her teachers at the school.

“Our thoughts are with her parents and family at this time,” she said.

Dr Simon Tanner, National Health Service (NHS) London’s regional director of public health, said while the death was tragic “it will probably not be the last that we have in this pandemic”.

A statement from NHS East of England said staff wished “to extend their deepest sympathies” to Dr Day’s family for “their sad loss”, adding the death was “a shock”.

During a special briefing on the virus on Friday, Ireland’s chief medical officer at the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, said while the virus had to date been relatively mild in this country, the situation could change in the coming months.

A department spokesperson added it expects to have 7.7 million doses of a near-made vaccine available for distribution by September that will allow for two doses per person to be administered.