LONDON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced that more than half of British children taking Tamiflu suffer side effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares, Britain's Sky news reported Friday.

    Two studies from HPA experts showed a "high proportion" of British schoolchildren reporting problems after taking the anti-viral drug.

    Data was gathered from children at three schools in London and one in southwest England. They were given Tamiflu earlier this year after classmates became infected with A/H1N1 flu.

    The studies showed that "51 percent experienced symptoms, such as feeling sick, headaches and stomach ache."

    The researchers behind one study said that although children may have attributed symptoms that were due to other illnesses to the use of Tamiflu, "This is unlikely to account for all the symptoms experienced."

    The British government said Thursday that the increase in A/H1N1 flu could have reached a plateau, with 110,000 new diagnoses in England last week.

    The death toll linked to the virus in England has reached 27, and 793 people are being treated in hospital. Four people in Scotland have died after contracting the disease.