Young hit hardest by swine flu: CDC

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Young hit hardest by swine flu: CDC

Swine flu is " a younger person's disease, " with more than half of

hospitalizations and nearly a quarter of deaths from H1N1 involving people under

the age of 25, a top health official said Tuesday.

Fifty-three percent of nearly 4,900 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu

between September 1 and October 10 involved patients under the age of 25, Anne

Schuchat, an expert on respiratory diseases and immunization at the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters.

Almost a quarter of the 292 deaths from swine flu which were reported in the

same time period were in young adults, teens and children, and two-thirds of

deaths from H1N1 were in the 25-64 age group, Schuchat said.

" This is dramatically different than what we see with seasonal flu " where 90

percent of fatalities and 60 percent of hospitalizations occur in people 65 and

over, said Schuchat.

Only 12 percent of fatalities and seven percent of hospitalizations for swine

flu have involved patients aged 65 and over.

H1N1 flu is " still a younger person's disease, " and because it is

disproportionately affecting young people, they have been made a target

population for the massive vaccination effort that is being rolled out across

the United States, Schuchat said...

http://news./s/afp/20091020/ts_alt_afp/healthfluusvaccine_2009102019393\

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