U.K. officials fear H1N1 uncontainable

LONDON, July 3 (UPI) -- Health officials in the United Kingdom say the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, may not be containable due to the rampant spread of the influenza infection.

The Scotsman (Edinburg) said U.K. Health Secretary Andy Burnham issued a projection that had the United Kingdom enduring more than 100,000 new cases of swine flu daily before the end of August.

"We have always known it would be impossible to contain the virus indefinitely and that at some point we would have to move away from containment to treating the increasing numbers falling ill," Burnham said.

Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer for England, said the rising number of swine flu cases in the United Kingdom means there is an extreme need for 60 million doses of vaccine to be dispersed by the end of 2009.

The Glasgow Herald said Harry Burns, chief medical officer for Scotland, suggested his country could see a less dramatic increase in H1N1 cases than Britain thanks to a decline in the increase rate throughout Scotland.