Category: Andy Burnham

Britain could face 100,000 swine flu cases a day

July 2, 2009 by srrpenna

Britain could have more than 100,000 cases of swine flu a day by the end of August, the government said Thursday, while stressing there was no need for alarm.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the figures could occur if current trends of infection continued in Britain, where the number of cases of the A(H1N1) virus is doubling every week and has reached nearly 7,500.

"Cases are doubling every week, and on this trend we could see over 100,000 cases a day by the end of August, but I stress this is only a projection," Burnham told the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament.

Swine flu update: Government changes strategy from containment to outbreak management

June 25, 2009 by srrpenna

Speaking this morning, Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, and Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, said that there were hotspots where swabbing and lab confirmations of the virus now put an unjustifiable strain on time and resources. These areas, including the West Midlands and London, are now shifting from the containment phase, which is led by the Health Protection Agency, to outbreak management, led by the strategic health authorities and local health trusts.