H1N1 - New Study Shows It's Deadly For Some Children
![](http://scm-l3.technorati.com/11/11/07/55893/flu.jpg?t=20111107134350">http://scm-l3.technorati.com/11/11/07/55893/flu.jpg?t=20111107134350)
Parents of school aged children have always lamented the frequency at which they catch the common cold and share it with the entire house. However, as inconvenient this may be, it’s not something any of us take too seriously. A new medical study by Dr. Adrienne Randolph, critical care researcher at Children's Hospital Boston, reveals information on H1N1, or swine flu, which should be taken very seriously. Her study has found a potential reason for the high number of deaths among children from this disease during the 2009 pandemic.
According to Dr Randolph, children who suffered from both H1N1 and also having methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria were at a heightened risk of death even with treatment. "There's more risk for MRSA to become invasive in the presence of flu or other viruses," study author Dr. Adrienne Randolph, critical care researcher at Children's Hospital Boston, said in a written statement. She called these deaths "a warning sign."
About her study:
• Published Nov 7th of Pediatrics
• Tracked 838 children during 2009 pandemic
• Children were admitted to 35 ICUs across the country
• Death rate of 75 percent
• Two-thirds died within 2 weeks of admission to the hospitals’ ICUs
• Most suffered from another chronic disease
• 30 percent were healthy children.
Previously healthy children usually survive the flu. The statistic showing 30 percent of them died was alarming. It was found that most children with flu alone survive. This study showed, however that the flu in combination with MSRA, which caused pneumonia, were far less likely to survive. “Some children were quickly overwhelmed, and many died despite centers doing everything to save them," Randolph said. "It's not that flu alone can't kill - it can - but in most cases children with flu alone survived."
Recommendations:
• Get a child with Flu symptoms treated immediately
• Children treated with Tamiflu within 2 days of onset showed better results
• Flu shots for children aged 6 months and older.
The H1N1 Virus is expected to make a comeback this year, and decades of attempts to develop a vaccine for MRSA have thus far failed, so the best recommendation is to be sure to get everyone vaccinated against the flu.
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