Here is the Health Protection Agency's Weekly pandemic flu media update. Excerpt:

•Rates of flu-like illness and related activity have shown further increases in England. The largest rises in England have been seen in the North West and Yorkshire and Humber.

•The flu-like illness rate in England from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) scheme increased to 22.2 per 100,000 in week 39. Most age groups saw an increase.

•This week, the antiviral collection numbers in the National Pandemic Flu Service have continued to increase and this has been seen in all age groups. The largest increase was in the 25-44 year olds (8,796 in week 38 to 12,055 in week 39).

•Interpretation of data to produce estimates on the number of new cases continues to be subject to a considerable amount of uncertainty. HPA modelling gives an estimate of 14,000 new cases in England last week (range 7,000 to 30,000). This is a 50 per cent rise since the previous week. This estimate incorporates data from National Pandemic Flu Service and GP consultations.