Big surge in swine flu.

SWINE Flu has surged in the West Midlands over the past week with numbers of people admitted to hospital with the H1N1 virus increasing by 72 per cent.

NHS West Midlands said 69 patients were treated in hospital for swine flu this week, compared to 40 a week ago. But there had been no further deaths.

Britain's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said there were 14,000 new weekly cases nationwide, which was a "steady" increase, but not doubling week on week, which is what is seen in a pandemic.