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Swine flu 'may have plateaued' in Britain: officials
London (AFP) July 30, 2009 The swine flu pandemic "may have plateaued" in Britain, health officials said Thursday, estimating some 110,000 new cases last week, only 10 percent higher than the previous week. The number of deaths in England was 27, just one up on the previous week's toll of 26, said the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in its weekly briefing on swine flu. Britain is the hardest hit country in Europe by the A(H1N1) virus, which started in Mexico before growing into a full-blown pandemic as defined by the World Health Organisation. But the steep rise in the number of cases in previous weeks seems to have levelled off as the start of school holidays reduces rates of infection. "Overall across the UK, the indications are that the number of cases (is) no longer rising rapidly, and may have plateaued," said an HPA statement. In addition, rates of people going to the doctor suspecting they have swine flu "show a plateau or small decrease over the last week in England," it added. Last week, the HPA said there had been some 100,000 new cases in the previous week. Some 793 patients are being treated in hospital with the virus, down slightly from 840 last week. It is widely expected that a second, stronger wave of infection will hit countries in the northern hemisphere later this year, as they head into the traditional peak season for all types of flu. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Zimbabwe declares end to cholera epidemicHarare (AFP) July 30, 2009 Zimbabwe's health minister said Thursday a cholera epidemic has ended, after more than 4,200 deaths and 100,000 cases since last August, but warned new outbreaks remain a threat. "The nation experienced the worst cholera outbreak between August and June 2009, but the epidemic has successfully been contained and has ended," Health Minister Henry Madzorera said in the official Herald newspaper ... read more |
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