The number of reported human swine flu cases has almost tripled in the space of a week, new figures reveal.
In the week up to Sunday last, the incidence of swine flu was 37 for 100,000, the equivalent of more than 1,600 cases nationally.
The numbers are similar to those given by GPs who say they have diagnosed 1,500 cases in the last week.
In the week ending July 19th, the reported incidences were 13 per 100,000, the equivalent of 572 cases nationally.
The chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said the cases involved GPs reporting patients with influenza symptoms rather than human swine flu itself, but nearly all cases of suspected flu have turned out to be the H1N1 strain.
Dr Holohan said the figures were “not at all above the limits of what we would expect” for a flu outbreak and the flu outbreak in December and January of this year showed an incidence of 120 cases per 100,000 of the population.
He said the current outbreak equated to one case per GP. “It is not as if we are saying that are GP practices are full of patients with these type of symptoms."
He reiterated comments yesterday from the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) that the current rate of swine flu was “well within our capacity to cope”.
To date 19 people have been hospitalised with the disease and two remain in intensive care including a Slovakian man who is receiving treatment in St James’s Hospital.
Two-thirds of those who hve contracted the disease did so a result of foreign travel. “As time goes by we expect the proportion of people who contract the disease in Ireland to rise. That is exactly the same scenario as we have seen in other countries.”
Dr Patrick Doorley, the HSE National Director of Population Health, said the executive was looking at a scenario where routine operations and procedures would be postponed to cater for patients with the H1N1 strain.
“We will be prioritising services to create capacity right throughout the hospital system and that may involve operating theatres were capacity will be freed up.”
UCD has confirmed that seven foreign students with suspected flu symptoms University College Dublin has confirmed that seven language students are in quarantine in the university's residences with suspected human swine flu.
They are mostly from Italy and Spain.
About 60 students, who have been on campus for around two weeks presented with flu like symptoms. A total of 47 have been cleared by GPs, 10 are awaiting assessment and seven have been quarantined.
