Health experts claim the H1N1 pandemic flu virus could kill up to 40,000 people across Europe and be followed by seasonal flu that could kill the same number. Skip related content
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Swine flu 'could kill 40,000' in Europe
Officials at Sweden's European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said epidemics of H1N1, known as swine flu, were now affecting almost every country in the European Union.
The ECDC, which monitors disease in the European Union and European free trade area (EFTA), said it was hard to predict what the mix of pandemic and seasonal flu viruses would bring but there was a risk of seasonal flu epidemics "early in 2010 when the pandemic waves have passed".
The ECDC's latest daily update said all 27 EU and four EFTA countries have cases of H1N1 pandemic flu and there have been 389 deaths linked to H1N1 in the region since April, including 154 in Britain, 73 in Spain, 25 in Italy and 22 in France.
"All European countries will be affected, and this will put considerable stress on healthcare systems," said ECDC director Zsuzsanna Jakab.
Officials added that experience from the United States and the southern hemisphere showed pregnant women with the virus are 10 times more likely to need intensive care than those with no risk factors. Those with asthma and chronic respiratory diseases have three times the risk and the very obese six times the risk.
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