# 2005
Fergus Walsh, medical consultant for the BBC, writes the Fergus on Flu column, which gives us some of the best reporting on the pandemic out of the UK.
Today he gives his readers an advance look at a new DOH publication called Swine Flu and Pregnancy, and a summary of the latest flu numbers from the last week.
From today’s column:
Cases down but deaths up
Meanwhile, the H1N1 virus continues its unpredictable course. The number of cases is falling in much of the UK, but there has been a significant increase in the number of deaths.
There were an estimated 64,000 new cases of swine flu in England in the past week, a fall of 20,000.
There were decreases in Northern Ireland and cases seem to have stalled in Wales (on one measure in Wales cases rose, and on another they fell).
Only Scotland showed an definite increase. Health officials think the dip in cases may be due to the recent half-term school holidays.
At the same time, there has been a big jump in the number of deaths, up by 28 to 182 across the UK.
But there is no evidence that the virus is becoming more virulent. Sir Liam Donaldson said:
"[T]he lab scientists continue to watch the virus and it's not changing, but it looks like now the virus is out of the summer it has a more serious spectrum about it."
Walsh’s column also brings a number of graphics of note, including some breakdowns by patient ages that show just how much the burden of this disease is falling on younger (under 65) patients:
Follow this link to read it in its entirety.
