Flu and the cold blamed for increase in deaths this winter

Thousands more people are dying in England and Wales this winter compared to previous years, with experts blaming flu and the cold weather for the higher death rate.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 28,800 people died in the two weeks ending on 23 January, a quarter higher than the normal rate for this time of year.

The average number of deaths for the same period over the last five years stood at 21,859.

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Prof John Newton, chief knowledge officer at Public Health England, told the BBC there had been a substantial increase in flu deaths since Christmas.

The H3N2 sub-type, which takes a particular strain on elderly people, is a prevalent flu virus at the moment.

Senior civil servants at the Department of Health also suggested that an unusually large number of frail people may have survived last winter because of the mild weather, but are succumbing to flu and the cold this year, pushing up the death rate.

Between 28 November 2014 and 23 January 2015, 97,658 people died, compared with the 85,605 average deaths for the previous five years.

More than 70 per cent of those who died in the last two months were aged 75 or older.

The total excess winter death toll is expected to top 40,000, the highest number for 15 years, says the Daily Telegraph.

The toll is calculated as the difference between the number of deaths during December to March and the average number of deaths during the four summer months and four autumn months.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, has said there is "strong evidence" that the additional deaths in the winter months are related to "cold temperatures, living in cold homes as well as infectious diseases such as influenza".

Caroline Abrahams, director of Age UK, said the cold weather can be "particularly dangerous" for older people who are more at risk of suffering health problems when the temperature drops. She urged the government to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the country to provide a "long-lasting solution to the scandal of fuel poverty and preventable winter deaths".