HealthFirst-Study shows young, old at risk from H1N1

UNDATED (WJRT) -- 11/03/09) -- Don't be fooled! H1N1 can be a dangerous virus for the elderly, according to research released this afternoon.

The California study results appear in this week's Journal of the Medical Association.  Specifically, these statistics show that H1N1 has led to hospitalizations and deaths in both the young and elderly in that state.

More people in those age groups have been hospitalized and have died of the flu since it first appeared in the U.S. in the spring.

"We actually found that over 30 percent of the patients who were admitted and hospitalized required intensive care and mechanical ventilation and over 10 percent died," researcher Dr. Janice K. Louie said.

Tiffany Lee, 16, was part of that 30 percent and said she was surprised to be hit so hard by the flu.  She's slowly on the mend but has spent most of the last three months in the hospital in intensive care unable to breathe on her own.

She has suffered a myriad of symptoms, including a 109 degree fever and liver and kidney failure.

"She got really ill really quickly and the severity of her sickness just started escalating," said Steve Adams, Tiffany's father.

But Dr. Louie says not all of the nearly 1,100 people hospitalized in California with H1NI between April and August of this year fell into the most publicized high risk groups.

"Even healthy people can get sick and hospitalized," she said.  "We found that there is a perception that the elderly are protected and have some pre-existing immunity when in fact, in our study, if the elderly were admitted and severely ill, they often ended up dying."

The study also reports that infants under six months had a higher risk of hospitalization

The study also found that "rapid tests" used by doctors to quickly diagnose the seasonal flu wasn't as reliable in detecting the H1N1 infection.

            Find out what everyone else is viewing on abc12.com         
| More Mid-Michigan and Flint news | ABC12 News at a glance |
              | abc12togo.com wireless  | Get us on your iPhone |
            | ABC12 Desktop Alert Tool | abc12.com newsletters |
                     | Visit us on Facebook | Report a typo |
                                       | Follow us on Twitter |

 

Comment on this story below and we may read what you have to say on the air.

Get more HealthFirst »

healthfirst, leslie toldo

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•