Researchers in Brazil have found a new cluster of patients in which the H1N1 virus tends to be fatal. In a recent study, they concluded that 76 percent of patients whose cases they examined had underlying conditions, such as cancer or heart disease.
Dr. Thais Mauad of Sao Paulo University in Brazil examined 21 patients---primarily ages 30 to 59--who died in in Sao Paulo this summer and had a confirmed H1N1 infection.
The researchers concluded that while most patients with non-fatal infections have fever, cough and aches, patients with a fatal H1N1 infection had difficulty breathing, with fever and aches being less common.
All of the deceased patients died of severe acute lung injury, though in some cases they had necrotizing bronchiolitis, sometimes with a bacterial co-infection.
To learn more about the study:
- read this UPI piece
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