First the good news...

There is some good news with the release of the latest swine flu data from the Health Protection Agency (Week 48). But, sadly, also some bad. There has only been a slight increase in influenza consultation activity in England and stable or a decrease in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The 'rumour' of an increase in swine flu activity in the south is borne out by the latest HPA figures. Although there is an increase in the hospitalisation rate of under fives, there is a decrease across the board. But the bad news is leap of 36 deaths across the UK to 240 - I'll need to double-check but I think that's the biggest weekly rise in deaths since swine flu began. It shows that while the illness is mild for most people, for a minority it is fatal. And there's also the throwaway remark that a batch of swine flu vaccine in Canada has been withdrawn because of higher than expected reports of adverse reactions. Cue The Daily Mail.