Last autumn a commercial for a vitamin-pill called Energy Flow went out on Japanese television

Last autumn, a commercial for a vitamin-pill called Energy Flow went out on Japanese television. The pill sold well because the soundtrack - a wistful little piano miniature - caused an unexpected stir. Viewers rang in their thousands to ask how they could acquire it, so a single was released, which instantly went to the top of the charts and carried off an award from Original Confidence, which is Japan's equivalent to Billboard magazine. The miniature's composer basked in a blaze of household fame This was nothing new to him.

Original Confidence might have been Ryuichi Sakamoto's middle names: shy he may seem, but no musician was ever less backward in coming forward. Above 200 cases is considered high and above 400 is defined as an "epidemic" in England and Wales.The last epidemic of flu, by this definition, was in 1989-90 and was estimated to have caused 26,000 deaths on top of the normal winter excess Deaths are always higher in winter than in summer.. Last autumn, a commercial for a vitamin-pill called Energy Flow went out on Japanese television. The pill sold well because the soundtrack - a wistful little piano miniature - caused an unexpected stir. Viewers rang in their thousands to ask how they could acquire it, so a single was released, which instantly went to the top of the charts and carried off an award from Original Confidence, which is Japan's equivalent to Billboard magazine. Frank Dobson, the former secretary of state for health, set up an inquiry into bed numbers in 1998 but it has yet to report.Official figures show there are 144 cases of flu per 100,000 population, based on visits to GPs, but Professor Donaldson estimated the figure was double that, as more people were treating themselves at home without consulting a doctor.The normal winter level for flu and flu-like illnesses is 50 to 200 cases per 100,000 population. Mr Milburn said there were 100 extra intensive care beds this year compared with last, and that every patient who needed intensive care would get it.But in Scotland, hardest hit by the outbreak, hospitals reported demand exceeding capacity by 10 per cent, with coronary care units and surgical recovery areas being taken over to nurse critically ill patients.Nationally, the number of acute hospital beds has been cut by 40 per cent in the last two decades as treatments have improved and hospital stays have shortened, but questions have been raised about whether the cuts have been too deep.

Private hospitals tend to have less intensive intensive care beds and the NHS has received many calls from the private sector wanting to use NHS intensive care beds."It will fuel the debate about whether Britain has enough hospital and intensive care beds to cope with the seasonal pressures on the service. We are there ready to contribute." He said normal commercial arrangements "would not apply", but warned that the number of intensive care beds available would fluctuate "This is a quid pro quo arrangement," he said. "Sometimes we ask for help from the NHS."Alan Milburn, the Secretary of State for Health, goaded by Tory jibes that he was refusing to talk to the private sector, responded later that NHS hospitals were free to enter into local arrangements with private hospitals where the need arose.But he added: "No one should be under the illusion that it provides as answer to the NHS's problems. A private health company stepped in to help the NHS cope with the flu outbreak yesterday as hospitals across the country said they were facing exceptional pressures. A private health company stepped in to help the NHS cope with the flu outbreak yesterday as hospitals across the country said they were facing exceptional pressures. Bupa, the insurance company that owns a chain of private hospitals, offered 19 intensive care beds at no charge after Professor Liam Donaldson, the Government's chief medical officer, warned that Britain was facing a flu epidemic.Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen, Bupa's medical director, said: "We are talking about people living or dying and the epidemic is not going to peak for another few days, maybe a week or so. Fifth seed Natalie Dechy of France retired with a pulled hamstring after winning the first set and trailing 2-3 in the second against Romanian Catalina Cristea.Tasmanian International Tennis Results (number in parentheses denotes seeding):First RoundChanda Rubin (4), United States, beat Nicole Pratt, Australia, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.Catalina Cristea, Romania, beat Natalie Dechy (5), France, 2-6, 3-2, retired.Kristina Brandi, United States, beat Henrieta Nagyova (6), Slovakia, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-2.Sarah Pitkowski (8), France, beat Barbara Schwartz, Austria, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.Miriam Oremans, Netherlands, beat Annabelle Ellwood, Australia, 6-4, 6-4.Gala Leon Garcia, Spain, beat Alicia Molik, Australia, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.Rita Grande, Italy, beat Maria Vento, Venezuela, 6-3, 7-5.Maureen Drake, United States, beat Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (8-6).Justine Henin, Belgium, beat Fabiola Zuluaga, Colombia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.Holly Parkinson, United States, beat Cristina Torrens-Valero, Spain, 6-3, 6-2..

Defending champion and fourth seed Chanda Rubin of the United States beat Australian Nicole Pratt 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 today in a first-round match at the Tasmanian International tennis tournament in Hobart, Australia. Pratt fought back from a one-sided opening set and engaged in a running duel with umpire Di Larkin over linecalls which earned her a code violation for time wasting. Pratt did not shake Larkin's hand at the end of the match.Two seeded players fell, with American Kristina Brandi beating sixth-seeded Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia in three sets. Defending champion and fourth seed Chanda Rubin of the United States beat Australian Nicole Pratt 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 today in a first-round match at the Tasmanian International tennis tournament in Hobart, Australia. "(but) I was always up and I think I played well."In other first-round matches, South African Amanda Coetzer beat American Lisa Raymond 7-6 (7-1), 6-0, Spaniard Conchita Martinez edged Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 and Silvija Talaja of Croatia defeated Nadejda Petrova of Russia 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4.Results of the adidas International tennis tournament at the Sydney 2000 Olympic venue, Homebush Bay (figure in parentheses denotes seeding):Mens Singles First roundLleyton Hewitt, Australia, beat Sebastien Grosjean, France, 6-4, 6-4Slava Dosedel, Czech Republic, beat Mark Woodforde, Australia, 6-3, 6-3Alex Corretja, Spain, beat Cedric Pioline (4), France, 6-4, 6-4Hichim Arazi, Morocco, beat Felix Mantilla, Spain, 6-3, 6-4Jason Stoltenberg, Australia, beat Jacobo Diaz, Spain, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4Karol Kucera (5), Slovakia, beat Martin Damm, Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1Nicolas Lapentti (2), Equador, beat Younes El Aynaoui, Morocco, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, beat Marat Safin, Russia, 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 6-3Women's Singles First roundJennifer Capriati, United States, beat Sanrine Testud, France, 6-3,Anna Kournikova (8), Russia, beat Sabine Appelmans, Belgium 7-6, (7-4), 6-2Amanda Coetzer (7), South Africa, beat Lisa Raymond, United States, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0Silvija Talaja, Croatia, beat Nadejda Petrova, Russia, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4Conchita Martinez, Spain, beat Anne Kremer, Luxembourg, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2Second roundAlexandra Stevenson, United States, beat Barbara Schett (4), Austria, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3Martina Hingis (1), Switzerland, beat Olga Barabanschikova, Belarus, 6-0, 6-2.. "So that makes me want it even more."Kournikova led 3-0 and then 5-3 in the opening set against Appelmans but struggled with consistency on her serve."I couldn't really finish my service games, I was relaxed and didn't finish it," she said of the first set.

So I settled down and focussed in the second and the third - I was very happy."Earlier, a resurgent Jennifer Capriati set up a second-round clash with Russian Anna Kournikova after cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sandrine Testud of France.Capriati, who started the year by beating Hingis 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 to clinch the Millennium Cup in Hong Kong on Saturday, said she hadn't felt better in a long time.The 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medalist said while she's still taking her comeback a match at a time, returning for the Olympics in September was something she wanted "almost more than anything.""Just to come back in the whole atmosphere again and now I have a chance - I think I have a chance because I'm closer than I was thinking last year or the year before," she said. Hewitt's win set up a clash with Spanish veteran Francisco Clavet, who downed Keurten on Monday.In other men's first-round matches, second-seeded Nicolas Lapentti of Equador came back to beat Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and fifth-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia outclassed Martin Damm of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.Australian Jason Stoltenberg overcame Jacobo Diaz of Spain 6-1, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4, Moroccan Hichim Arazi beat Spaniard Felix Mantilla 6-3, 6-4 and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who advanced to the draw as the last qualifier, upset Russia's Marat Safin 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3.In a late doubles match, Pat Rafter made his first competitive appearance since withdrawing from last year's US Open to partner fellow Aussie Wayne Arthurs to a 6-4, 6-4 win against Neil Broad and Brent Haygarth.In women's second-round matches, Alexandra Stevenson eliminated fourth-seeded Barbara Schett of Austria 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, while world No. 1 Martina Hingis took just 34 minutes to dispose of Belarussian qualifier Olga Barabanschikova 6-0, 6-2."You try to keep it short if you can because there's alot more to come," Hingis said of her center court blitz.Stevenson grew in confidence against Schett as the match progressed."The first (set) I was trying too much to do everything at once and I was missing a lot. Spain's Alex Corretja ousted fourth-seeded Cedric Pioline of France 6-4, 6-4 today as the seeds continued to tumble out of the adidas International at the Sydney 2000 Olympic tennis venue. Pioline joined top-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil and eighth-seeded Vince Spadea of the United States as first-round casualties in the men's draw.Lleyton Hewitt, who clinched the Australia Grosjean 6-4, 6-4. Spain's Alex Corretja ousted fourth-seeded Cedric Pioline of France 6-4, 6-4 today as the seeds continued to tumble out of the adidas International at the Sydney 2000 Olympic tennis venue. "It was difficult to play my best."Clavet said winning against a top five player was the best way to start a new year."It doesn't matter what tournament you're playing or who you're playing - it's always good to beat a top five player," he said.In earlier matches, seventh-seeded Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia beat Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett 6-1, 7-5 and Arnaud Clement of France defeated Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.In the opening women's match, sixth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France dropped the first set before overcoming Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-7 (7-2), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 29 minutes.Mauresmo, runner-up to Martina Hingis at last year's Australian Open, traded breaks three times with Sugiyama before losing a first-set tie break.She recovered her serve and dominated the second set to win 6-0 and then held her composure in a tense third-set tiebreaker to clinch the decider."I didn't play my best tennis but it's good to win your first game of the season - it's good for your confidenceie Halard-Decugis of France 6-4, 6-4.In other women's matches, Olga Barabanchikova, a qualifier of Belarus, came from a set down to upset Germany's Anke Huber 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, Dominique Van Roost of Belgium defeated Argentine qualifier Paola Suarez 6-2, 6-2 and Russia's Elena Likhovtseva defeated Sandra Nacuk of Yugoslavia 6-7 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.adidas International results at the Sydney 2000 Olympic venue, Homebush Bay (figure in parentheses denotes seeding):Mens Singles First RoundArnaud Clement, France, beat Mariano Zabaleta, Argentina, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia (7), beat Kevin Ullyett, Zimbabwe, 6-1, 7-5Francisco Clavet, Spain, beat Gustavo Kuerten (1), Brazil, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4Adrian Voinea, Romania, beat Vincent Spadea (8), United States, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4Daniel Vacek, Czech Republic, beat Jean-Rene Lisnard, France, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)Stefan Koubek, Austria, beat Fernando Meligeni, Brazil, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1Todd Martin (3), United States, beat Andrei Medvedev, Ukraine, 6-1, 6-7 (7-1), 6-3Andrew Ilie, Australia, beat Albert Costa, Spain, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.Womens Singles First RoundDominique Van Roost, Belgium, beat Paola Suarez, Argentina, 6-2, 6-2Amelie Mauresmo, France, beat Ai Sugiyama, Japan, 6-7 (7-2), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)Elena Likhovtseva, Russia, beat Sandra Nacuk, Yugoslavia, 6-7 (9-7), 7-6, (7-5), 6-2.Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain, beat Julie Halard-Decugis (5), France, 6-4, 6-4.. "It's good to beat the younger players to keep them down to earth a bit."Kuerten, who survived a long deuce game to go 4-4 in the decider, showed his frustration in the last game and earned a code violation for racquet abuse after volleying into the net at 0-15 and 4-5 down.The 1997 French Open champion said his game had suffered recently for a lack of match practice."It's difficult, it was my first match and I had a lot of time off," he said.