H1N1 Influenza Disproportionally Affects the Young

H1N1 influenza has turned flu death statistics upside down, according to new information released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA).

According to surveillance data collected by the CDC from 27 U.S. states since the beginning of September 2009, 88% of the deaths due to H1N1 during this time have been in people under the age of 65, with almost a quarter of the deaths in young people under the age of 25. Additionally, 53% of swine flu hospitalizations are in people under age 25, 39% of hospitalizations are in people 25 to 64 years of age, but only 7% of people hospitalized with swine flu are over 65. Until the end of October 2009, 86 children in the United States alone have died from the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

"It is almost completely reversed. Nearly 90% of our fatalities are occurring in people under 65,” said CDC respiratory disease director Anne Schuchat, M.D. "This illustrates this H1N1 virus is disproportionally affecting the young. These are very sobering statistics, and unfortunately, they are likely to increase.”

The CDC also reported that while the majority of severe H1N1 swine flu cases are in people with conditions that put them at risk of flu complications, not all these conditions are severe. Cases have appeared in people suffering from well-controlled asthma, for example, as well as pregnancy, which is not considered an illness at all.

"Completely healthy pregnant women are coming down with horrible, horrible illnesses - and, tragically more deaths,” added Dr. Schuchat. "So even if you have diabetes that's well controlled, if you have asthma that's well controlled, we want to you think of yourself as a higher risk and recommend that you be vaccinated.”

Related Links:
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention