In the winter period of December to March 2008/09 there were an estimated 36,700 more deaths in England and Wales, compared with the average for the non-winter period (see definition below). This was an increase of 49 percent compared with the number in the previous winter 2007/08. This is the highest number of excess winter deaths since the winter of 1999/2000, when excess winter mortality was nearly a third higher than in 2008/09. The elderly population experiences the greatest increase in deaths each winter. In the winter of 2008/09 there were 29,400 more deaths among those aged 75 and over, compared with levels in the non-winter period. In contrast, there were 7,300 excess winter deaths among those under the age of 75.
The number of extra deaths occurring in winter varies depending on temperature, the level of disease in the population, and other factors. Increases in deaths from respiratory and circulatory diseases are responsible for most of the excess winter mortality. Influenza is often implicated in winter deaths as it can cause complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia, especially in the elderly, although relatively few deaths are attributed to influenza itself. According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), influenza activity started early and reached moderate levels during the winter of 2008/09, but did not reach the epidemic levels seen in the winter of 1999/2000.
So how many of our frailer fellow citizens will perish prematurely this winter — twenty thousand, thirty thousand — forty thousand perhaps? Who knows? This, however, is not a question that is likely to trouble any of our bloated “honourable” Members as they tuck into their lavish, taxpayer funded, Christmas dinners this Yuletide.
Depression test
