Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Expectant women warned over swine flu

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Expectant women warned over swine flu

    Expectant women warned over swine flu
    JULIA MEDEW
    January 27, 2010

    Expectant women are being warned to protect themselves against a second wave of swine flu expected in coming months after research confirmed they were more prone to serious illness compared with other healthy people.

    The first major review of 112 people admitted to seven Melbourne hospitals with the virus last year found that 13 per cent of the patients were pregnant or had just given birth.

    The research published in the Medical Journal of Australia also found that two patients had suffered rare complications of influenza including Guillain-Barre syndrome, a debilitating form of paralysis, and rhabdomyolysis, a muscle-melting condition.

    Justin Denholm, a research fellow at the Royal Melbourne Hospital who worked on the project, said both conditions could be seen in people with seasonal flu, but were very rare.

    He said that while more research was required to explain the link, it was possible swine flu had some peculiar characteristics that made it more likely to produce these complications.

    But he said the most striking trend among the patients admitted to hospital between May and July was the high proportion of pregnant women. He said a quarter of 60 women admitted to hospital were pregnant, a significant number considering 1 per cent of all women are pregnant at any given time.

    ''Pregnancy is not really a risk factor for seasonal influenza, so this severe infection during pregnancy is not something we're used to seeing,'' he said.

    Dr Denholm said that although it was unclear exactly why pregnant women were so vulnerable to the virus, it might be linked to an increased blood flow to the lungs during pregnancy. It was also possible pregnant women had lower levels of a particular protein needed to fight swine flu, he said.

    ''There might be some fundamental changes in the immune system during pregnancy that swine flu ? might be able to take advantage of,'' he said.

    Other groups found to be at high risk of hospitalisation were asthmatics, who made up a third of all admissions, and diabetics, who made up 18 per cent. A quarter of the patients were smokers, 13 per cent had cancer and 7 per cent were obese, the study found. A fifth had no risk factors.

    Of the 112 patients studied, 30 were admitted to an intensive care or high-dependency unit and three died during their hospital stay. This could underestimate death among the group, the authors said, because they did not follow up on the patients after the study ended.

    Dr Denholm said although descriptions of swine flu's virulence had changed many times since its emergence, this research showed the severity of illness seen in Victoria exceeded that of an ordinary flu season.

    ''This flu is not the killer pandemic people were worried about in the first place, but our study shows it is still an illness with significant morbidity and mortality, so I would encourage people, particularly those at high risk, to be vaccinated.''

    Free swine flu vaccines are available from GPs. (Australia)

    Pregnant women are being warned to protect themselves against a second wave of swine flu expected in coming months.
Working...
X