U.K. death toll from flu hits 50

LONDON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Britain's Health Protection Agency says 11 more deaths from flu in the United Kingdom have brought the season's total to 50.

Forty-five of the deaths were from H1N1 swine flu and five others from another strain, flu type B, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Children and young adults were the hardest hit, with five cases among children under age 5 and eight among those 5 to 14, the HPA said.

Hospitals across the country have begun canceling planned operations to free up intensive care beds for an increasing number of patients seriously ill with flu.

A "huge burst of H1N1 marching up the country" was putting pressure on intensive care units, especially those with beds equipped to deal with patients suffering from respiratory failure, one doctor said.

"I would say that from a national point of view we are very close to capacity most days," said Dr. Jon Smith at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

In one of the worst flu outbreaks in recent years, supplies of flu vaccine are running low and manufacturers are warning they have no supplies left.

Officials said that although there should be enough vaccine available, there appeared to be a mismatch between where the stocks were and where the patients who needed it were.

"We are hearing some stories of the (seasonal flu) vaccine being in one place and the patient being somewhere else," said Professor Dame Sally Davies, the interim chief medical officer for England.

"The data we have suggests there should be enough in the system."