Deadly second wave of swine flu 'on its way', scientists warn

A second wave of swine flu could be on its way, scientists warned last night after the number of new cases rose for the first time since July.

The jump, from an estimated 3,000 to 5,000, comes a fortnight after children - key spreaders of the disease - returned to school.

There have been outbreaks at six schools in England, but health chiefs repeated that there are no plans to close schools as it would do little to contain the disease.



In another development, two sufferers are believed to have developed resistance to Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug which is the only line of defence to the disease before a vaccine is ready.



Disruption: A woman walks through London with a surgical mask in an attempt to protect her from swine flu (file picture). Scientists fear the deadly second wave of swine flu is on its way

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson however said the two cases were not of significance as there was no evidence these resistant viruses had been transmitted from person to person.

Experts have been predicting a second wave of swine flu will hit in the winter months following a lull over the summer break, when children were not mixing as freely. Sir Liam said the figures 'begin to suggest swine flu is coming back'. And he admitted: 'We would naturally have hoped for a bit more breathing space before it started again.'





There are 143 people in hospital in England, of whom 23 are in intensive care. The total of deaths linked to the virus stands at 67 in England and 79 across the UK.

Sir Liam has revised NHS forecasts, saying that between 3,000 and 19,000 will die from the virus - down from the 65,000 worst case scenario outlined in July.

The number of new cases have been falling since the peak of 110,000 a week reported in late July. Experts believe a second wave of the disease will be more deadly as it will coincide with winter, when flu is more virulent.

Sir Liam said more than 1.3million people had been assessed via the National Pandemic Flu Service for England, with 522,890 collections of anti-viral drugs.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham, left, and Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson demonstrate how to sneeze, while reducing the risk of infecting others, during a visit to a North London school