Published 20 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4313
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4313

News

H1N1 pandemic flu found to cause viral pneumonia in severe cases, says WHO

John Zarocostas

1 Geneva

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The World Health Organization expressed heightened concern following the presentation of new evidence on clinical aspects of the H1N1 pandemic by experts from heavily affected countries, which document that "primary viral pneumonia is the most common finding in severe cases and a frequent cause of death."

Experts confirmed that most people infected by the H1N1 pandemic virus do not experience complications and recover within a week. But they also expressed concerns about small subsets of patients who rapidly develop severe progressive pneumonia.

Pregnant women, children younger than 2 years old, and people with chronic lung disease, including asthma, were the groups with the most risk of severe or fatal illness, the briefing was told.

Nikki Shindo, medical officer at WHO’s global influenza programme, said, "This virus really likes the lower respiratory tract. That means this virus is [more] likely to cause viral pneumonia compared with seasonal influenza."

The findings, presented . . . [Full text of this article]


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