Swine flu cases rise as 2 die in N Ireland

The number of new instances of swine flu in the last week rose eight per cent from the previous week, to 84,000 new cases.

There have also been two new deaths in Northern Ireland from the H1N1 virus, reports have said today, with 105 people in England having died from the virus since it broke out.

Data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) found the highest number of cases of the flu-like illness was in the one-to four-year-old age group, and, as of yesterday morning, there were 848 patients in hospital with swine flu.

It also estimated a cumulative total number of cases of 621,000 since the pandemic began.

Internationally, it is believed that 6,255 people have died from the virus and in the last seven days, the total number of deaths reported globally has increased by five per cent – compared to the 12 per cent increase reported last week.