LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of people in Britain dying of A/H1N1 has almost doubled to 14 in the past two days with dozens more critically ill, Sky news reported on Friday.

    There are 9,718 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in Britain, registering the third highest number in the world following the U.S. with 33,902 cases and Mexico with 10,262 cases.

    Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said London and the West Midlands were approaching epidemic levels, adding that there were 335 people in hospital in England with 43 in a critical condition.

    However, it is hard to estimate how many people in Britain were suffering from A/H1N1. Justin McCracken, chief executive of the Health Protection Agency said it was local decision in each case whether to release details of where and who the victims were.

    It is expected to surge in the winter months when flu is more prevalent.

    Last week, Health Secretary Andy Burnham said 100,000 new cases of A/H1N1 could occur in Britain by the end of August.