# 3846
Back in May, just a couple of weeks after the news of the novel H1N1 virus emergence was making the papers, I wrote a piece called H1N1: Apparently Not Your Father’s Influenza.
In it I discussed some of the more unusual aspects of this illness’s presentation. Even then, it was apparent that there was something different about this virus.
Since then, we’ve learned a lot more about the virus. And so far, the good news is that for most people, it produces a short, miserable, but survivable bout of the flu.
But for a very small subset of victims, it can produce a life threatening pneumonia. And by and large, it favors younger adults and children.
Today, a long and detailed report from Rob Stein of the Washington Post, that looks at how these severe cases of H1N1 infection differ from regular seasonal flu.
While a lot of the territory that this article covers has been mentioned before in these pages, this is an excellent summary, and bring us nicely up to date.
Well worth reading in its entirety.
A Hat tip to Commonground on FluTrackers for posting this link.
Swine Flu Characteristics Becoming More Evident
Links to Pneumonia, Rapid Effects on Young Noted
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 17, 2009As swine flu continues to spread around the globe, a clearer and in some ways more unnerving picture of the most serious cases has started to emerge, indicating that the virus could pose a greater threat to some young, otherwise vibrant people.
The virus can cause life-threatening viral pneumonia much more commonly than the typical flu, prompting the World Health Organization on Friday to warn hospitals to prepare for a possible wave of very sick patients and to urge doctors to treat suspected cases quickly with antiviral drugs.
Experts stress that most people who get the H1N1 virus either never get sick or recover easily. But some young adults, possibly especially women, are falling seriously ill at an unexpectedly rapid pace and are showing up in intensive care units and dying in unusually high numbers, they say.
Although why a minority of patients become so sick remains a mystery, new research indicates that H1N1 is different from typical seasonal flu viruses in crucial ways -- most notably in its ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and cause viral pneumonia.
