Swine Flu Kills 13 People in North

The Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland has confirmed that more than a dozen people have died there from swine flu since 1 November 2010.

A PHA statement said that the youngest fatality was a seven-year-old child and the oldest was 67-years-old and that only nine of the 13 tragic victims had underlying medical conditions.

It has already emerged that 33 swine flu patients were today fighting for their lives in intensive care in Northern Ireland hospitals with growing calls for the health agency to be more open about the flu upsurge, leading to the up-to-date facts being announced this afternoon.

BBC Radio Ulster's Steven Nolan Show looked at the issue in depth this morning and underlined the fact that healthy people are currently being refused the H1N1 vaccination - despite as many as half of the 33 patients who are today critically ill being classed as 'otherwise healthy' patients.

The radio personality quizzed the Director of Public Health in Northern Ireland on the issue this morning after yesterday's news that a total of 185 NI people had the H1N1 virus (pictured above) in the last week of December with the highest number of cases in the 15-44 age group.

Dr Carolyn Harper said that the PHA was guided by national policy on the issue of who gets access to the H1N1 vaccine, and this was continuously subject to review at national level and that the PHA would advise GPs accordingly as and when such advice were to change.

She did admit that around half of the people currently being treated in intensive care units across NI for swine flu have indeed no underlying conditions to aggravate the symptoms and that over 30 swine flu victims are fighting for their lives in intensive care in Northern Ireland hospitals.

Despite the usual scenario that people most at risk - such as pregnant women or handicapped children - are on the danger list, she also said that 50% of these cases have no underlying health conditions.

According to the earlier figures from the PHA, total cases have increased again this week but the level of the rise is less than previous weeks.

Yesterday, it was revealed that a total of 50 people had died from the latest outbreak across the UK as a whole - a figure said to include the 13 local deaths.

Most recently, a man from west Belfast died on Wednesday, while another two people passed away several weeks ago in Craigavon and Ballykelly representing just three of the swine flu deaths locally.

(BMcC/GK)