Obese hit hard by swine flu in Mexico, Canada

[cali]

October 13, 2009

Rapidly worsening breathing problems in the sickest H1N1 flu patients in Mexico and Canada suggest a scary worst-case scenario for what doctors in the United States will face as winter flu season sets in, new reports suggest.

In the first wave of the global swine flu outbreak, many critically ill patients in both countries were obese, though their death rates weren't higher than others. Many in both countries also were younger than those typically hard hit by seasonal flu, as has been found in the United States.

Rapidly worsening breathing problems in the sickest H1N1 flu patients in Mexico and Canada suggest a scary worst-case scenario for what doctors in the United State will face as winter flu season sets in, new reports suggest.


Patients studied worsened quickly after being admitted to hospitals. Most survived after intensive, lengthy treatment, though the death rate in the Mexican patients who were studied -- 41 percent -- was much higher.

The reports were published online Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1821175,CST-NWS-flu13.article