Swine flu cases surge as Germans head for the beach

Jul 23, 2009, 16:06 GMT

   Berlin - Germany's tally of H1N1 influenza cases surged Thursday as the summer holiday season gained stride, with officials saying most new victims had caught the virus on holiday abroad.

   The Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, which tracks the disease, said 2,500 Germans have come down with swine flu so far, a jump by one third from the tally Wednesday.

Unlike other influenza types which mainly hit in the autumn and winter, H1N1 has spread quickly in the northern summer.

   The institute head, Joerg Hacker, said most Germans were catching H1N1 while on holiday in Spain, where young Germans often share drinking glasses or kiss on the beach.

   'Lots of people in small spaces raises the likelihood of being infected,' said Hacker. Every year, Spain has 10 million tourist arrivals from Germany. In many areas of Germany, school holidays began this week, leading to an increase in travel.

In a related development, a school at Engstingen in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg was closed after seven children returned from a trip to London infected with the virus.