Swine-Flu Deaths Higher In The Elderly

2009年 11月 04日

People age 50 and older who were hospitalized with the swine flu in California had the highest fatality rate from the illness, while those younger than 18 had the lowest death rates.

Researchers from the California Department of Public Health looked at 1,088 cases of hospitalization and death attributed to H1N1 from April 23 -- shortly after the virus was discovered -- through Aug. 11.

The findings will be published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

While hospitalization rates in California were highest for infants and young adults ages 18 to 29 and lower for older people, the findings suggest older people who are hospitalized are more likely to die.

'Despite reports that elderly persons may be 'protected' by pre-existing immunity, clinicians should closely monitor and promptly treat hospitalized patients with pandemic 2009 influenza A H1N1 infection,' researchers wrote.

Still, similar to statistics collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data in California show H1N1 is hitting young people harder than what's typically seen for seasonal flu. The median age of hospitalized patients in California was 27.

50岁以上甲流患者死亡率最高

在

加州因甲型H1N1流感而就医的患者中，50岁以上人群的死亡率最高，而18岁以下人群的死亡率最低。

加州公共卫生部门的研究人员研究了4月23日甲型H1N1流感爆发不久至8月11日因此病就诊和死亡的1,088个病例。

这项研究结果将发表在本周的《美国医学会杂志》(Journal of the American Medical Association)上。

在加州，尽管婴幼儿和18至29岁年轻人就医的比例最高，年长者就医的比例较低，但研究发现就医者里年长者的死亡率更高。

研究人员写道，尽管有报告说年长者可能会受到已有的免疫能力的“保护”，但医生应密切监视并迅速治疗就诊的甲型H1N1患者。

不过，同美国疾病控制与预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)收集的统计数据类似，加州的数据也显示甲型H1N1流感比普通的季节性流感更容易侵袭年轻人。加州就诊患者的年龄中值为27岁。