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Complications more likely in older swine flu patients

14 Jul 2009

Older people who catch swine flu are more likely to suffer from complications.

This is the warning from Dr Maureen Baker, honorary secretary at the Royal College of General Practitioners, UK, who was commenting after the death of a six-year-old girl and a GP from swine flu in Britain.

Dr Baker explained that there is a difference between those who are at high risk of swine flu and those, once they have contracted the illness, who are more likely to suffer further problems.

"You might have a low risk of contracting the illness but a higher risk if you then get ill. Elderly people for instance meet that category," she commented.

"At the moment relatively few people over the age of 60 have got swine flu but older people, if they do get it, are at higher risk of complications."

Dr Baker added that the majority of people who have caught swine flu are children and teenagers.

Last month, the World Health Organization raised its alert to level six, which recognises the fact that the H1N1 flu virus has spread to pandemic levels across the world.

Click here to visit the Flu Quick GuideADNFCR-1528-ID-19263822-ADNFCR

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