Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Swine flu linked to viral pneumonia

|
|
 
  
Published: Oct. 18, 2009 at 2:55 AM

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Doctors say the H1N1 strain of influenza, commonly known as swine flu, is more likely to get deep into the lungs than seasonal influenza.

When that happens, patients tend to get viral pneumonia, The Washington Post reported.

The World Health Organization advised doctors to treat serious cases of H1N1 quickly with antiviral drugs and warned hospitals they may get a lot of extremely sick patients this winter.

A three-day conference on the flu ended Friday in Washington. The WHO brought together more than 100 experts to review what is known about swine flu.

The experts said that, as with seasonal flu, most people infected with the H1N1 strain experience only mild illness. But they also stressed differences. While seasonal flu kills the elderly and people with compromised immune systems, H1N1 targets the young.

"It's not like seasonal influenza," Nikki Shindo of the WHO said. "It can cause very severe disease in previously healthy young adults."

Topics: H1N1
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade Proposition 8 ruled unconstitutional in California
AARP Movies for Grownups Award Gala The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Snowy Owls make appearance in Washington
Additional U.S. News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
St. Louis man fatally shot trying to get people to sign a petition to make Missouri safer
Two men use a rolled-up magazine 'radar gun' in an attempt to pull over a motorist... who of course...
WORLD FARK PARTY II: Mar 30 - Apr 1 in Las Vegas - see comments for details
Over 40 percent of women carry sexy panties in their purse in case a date with somebody other than...
Charges against Iowa burlesque dancers dropped after technical difficulties with the video that...
Arizona court forces potential candidate off of city council ballot because her English isn't good...