More than 150 flu cases confirmed

More than 150 further cases of swine flu have been diagnosed across the West Midlands region.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said on Thursday the region has had 2,582 cases overall out of 6,162 in England.

A total of 158 West Midlands cases were confirmed on Thursday after 116 and 204 were revealed on the previous two days.

In Birmingham, which has seen one of the country's biggest outbreaks, the city council has been holding an inquiry into swine flu.

Rising numbers

It has been considering what lessons can be learned and what action would need to be taken if there was a more virulent strain of the virus.

Welford Primary School, in Handsworth, shut in May with nearly 200 people connected to the school diagnosed with the virus.

The rising numbers of swine flu cases meant trying to contain the virus was no longer an option, the government said.

Ministers said the emergency response would now move to a new "treatment" phase across the UK as there may soon be 100,000 new cases a day.

It means anti-flu drugs will no longer be given to the close contacts of those infected nor will lab testing be done to confirm cases.

There have been 7,447 confirmed cases in the UK, the HPA said on Thursday.