One in four of the patients in intensive care is under the age of 16.
The number of people who have died so far in the outbreak has increased to 122 in the UK, with 93 of them in England.
Sir Liam said over half of the deaths were in people aged under 45 and that this was a "very unusual pattern for flu".
SHOOT: This is still only the first or second wave. Like the recession, we expect, we hope things will improve, but the likelihood is, unfortunately, that it won't. And people aren't ready to prepare for this, let alone consider it.
Doctors have been "unnerved" by the severity of swine flu in some patients and their rapid deterioration into a "life and death situation", Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer has said.
The number of people in intensive care with swine flu has reached its highest point yet, with 99 people currently in critical care beds out of a total of 506 in hospital.
Sir Liam said intensive care specialists have told him privately that they are 'unnerved by the severity off the illness and how quickly it can develop'. He said some patients are 'getting into a life and death situation very early on'.
The number of patients in intensive care has risen from 74 last week. The proportion of patients in hospital who are in critical care has remained at around 12 to 13 per cent since the outbreak began but is now been at 20 per cent for two weeks.
The reason for the sudden jump in the number of patients with suffering with severe swine flu is unknown.
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