§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the most recent figure for deaths due to the A virus influenza epidemic;
(2) what is the current number of influenza sufferers of the A virus in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement;
(3) what are the latest proportions of A and B virus sufferers in England and Wales at the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Dr. OwenNo separate figures are available for deaths due to influenza virus358W A. The total number of deaths from all types of influenza during the seven days to 20th February was 762—compared with 259 in the previous week; about 70 per cent. of these were patients over 75 years of age.
The current number of sufferers from A virus type influenza is not known. Returns submitted to a research unit indicated that for about 50 general practices the epidemic influenza rate for the period 11th to 17th February was 537 per 100,000 of the population. Comparative rates for viruses A and B as judged by identifications reported for the week ending 20th February were estimated as about 2.6 to1.