Britain Projects 100,000 Swine Flu Cases Per Day

By Tim Castle LONDON (Reuters) -

Britain is projecting more than 100,000 new cases a day of the H1N1 flu by the end of August and will change the way it deals with the virus, the government said Thursday.

"We could see over 100,000 cases per day by the end of August -- though I stress this is only a projection," health minister Andy Burnham told parliament.

He said the number of confirmed cases of the virus known as swine flu is doubling every week, putting pressure on health services.

"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," he said.

The World Health Organization declared on June 11 that the outbreak of the virus was a pandemic. More than 77,000 people have been infected worldwide.