Under-14s are swine flu's “super-spreaders”; the Church of England issues an unprecedented order

A total of 840 people in England are being treated in hospital after contracting the virus; 63 are in a critical condition. The official number of deaths across Britain linked to swine flu remains at 30.

SHOOT: Britain is about to release their latest stats for infections.

clipped from www.timesonline.co.uk The National Pandemic Flu Service, which offers callers or internet users a prescription code for antiviral drugs if they have symptoms, was experiencing “unprecedented demand”, with 9.3 million hits every hour. • swine flu is at epidemic levels in many areas, with the under-14s — described as “super-spreaders” by the Chief Medical Officer — the worst hit. About 100,000 people in England were infected with the H1N1 virus in the week to Sunday compared with 55,000 cases the previous week; • Vodafone could make millions of pounds by charging 20p a minute for calls to the 0800 hotline number; • the Church of England issued an unprecedented order to suspend “sharing of the chalice” at Communion. Doctors have said that Tamiflu, the main antiviral drug being used to treat symptoms, could be overprescribed by staff at the telephone service, who are not medically trained. “We know that for people to be treated in the first 24 to 48 hours makes a real difference,” he said.