RSS
Home
Asthma increases risk of H1N1 complications in children
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
An asthmatic child in the hospital
(photo: Daryl Davis/Flickr/CC BY 2.0)
Related Articles
- Google launches new Flu Shot Finder to help locate local flu vaccination providers
- Giving Tylenol can reduce effectiveness of vaccines in babies
- Previous seasonal influenza infections may provide partial immunity to H1N1
- Oregon cat is the first feline death from H1N1 in the U.S.
- Indiana plans to make the H1N1 vaccine available to all residents by late December
Children with asthma have a higher risk of complications from H1N1 than from seasonal flu, according to a new study. Researchers found asthmatic children were more likely to be hospitalized when sick with H1N1 (“swine flu”) than when sick with seasonal flu.
The study, conducted by researchers from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, compared the charts of 58 children diagnosed with H1N1 during 2009 and 200 children with seasonal flu over the last five years. They found 22 percent of children admitted to the hospital due to H1N1 had asthma, as compared to only 6 percent of children who had seasonal flu. In addition, they found over 40 percent of all H1N1 admissions to the ICU were asthmatic children.
The H1N1 virus itself did not cause a more severe illness in the hospitalized children than the seasonal flu. In fact, none of the studied children died from H1N1, while one died from seasonal flu. The researchers concluded the asthma was the contributing factor to the complications seen in the children with H1N1.
“There are few published studies that compare H1N1 to seasonal flu with specific focus on the severity of asthma or the clinical course and outcomes of children with asthma,” said Dr. Dat Tran, Associate Scientist at SickKids and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. “Our experience suggests that asthma is a more significant risk factor for severe pandemic H1N1 influenza than for seasonal influenza and that children with mild asthma are also at risk.”
As the severity of the asthma did not appear to contribute to the risk factor, the doctors recommend in the conclusion of the printed study that “even children with mild asthma should receive vaccination and be considered for pre-emptive antiviral therapy.”
For more info: The above-mentioned study was published online on November 19, 2009. The full text is available on the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) website.
For more information on H1N1 in Indiana, please visit the official website of the State of Indiana. For concerns or questions on H1N1, call the Indiana State H1N1 Flu Hotline toll-free at 1-877-826-0011 or 221-3366 for the Marion County H1N1 hotline.
For more articles by the Indianapolis Healthy Living Examiner, please visit Amanda's homepage. To keep up with health news and information, click the subscribe link at the top of the page to receive email notification when new articles are published.
Related Articles:
Comments
