. Photograph: Nick Gregory / Alamy/Alamy

Concerns over the spread and virulence of the latest flu outbreak are increasing among health experts, following a doubling of cases in a week and the announcement today of 10 more deaths, taking the total this season to 27.

Influenza expert Professor John Oxford described the upward curve of the flu cases graph as "pretty horrible". According to the Royal College of GPs, confirmed cases have increased from 32.8 per 100,000 to 87.1 per 100,000 in the last week.

The true figure will be higher as some people will stay at home in bed without seeing a doctor.

The chief anxiety is that the predominant strain is H1N1 swine flu, which triggered last year's pandemic and is now coming around for a second season. Most over-65s are protected, because the strain is similar to one that circulated years ago, so it is a younger age group, including children and pregnant women, who are being hardest hit.

According to the Health Protection Agency's weekly statistical bulletin, of the 27 deaths, 24 were from swine flu and the rest from influenza B. Eighteen of those who died were adults and nine children.

About half of those who died had an underlying health condition, which would have made them especially vulnerable to flu and also makes them eligible for the vaccine on the NHS. The jab protects against three strains, including swine flu and influenza B. But the rest were apparently previously healthy.

The HPA acknowledges that a younger generation than usual are bearing the brunt of the outbreak. "A small proportion of flu cases are resulting in severe disease, particularly in people under the age of 65," it said in a statement. "This is due to the fact that H1N1 is more likely to infect young people and, unfortunately, a very small number of these may develop severe disease."

Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, which collects the data said: "The level of flu activity we are currently seeing is at levels often seen during the winter flu seasons, but due to the fact that H1N1 is one of the predominant strains circulating at the moment, we are seeing more severe illness in people under 65 than we would normally expect."

He urged people in at-risk groups for flu

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