From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-565276-643527
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- Flu sufferers, especially children, are at risk
of potentially deadly bacterial infections, a top doctor at Children's
Hospital in Philadelphia says.
The outbreak of H1N1 virus, or swine flu, means the medical community
and the public need to remain alert to secondary infections,
particularly strep pneumoniae, said Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, chief of
allergy and immunology at Children's Hospital.
Many children who die from flu complications have a virus that
paralyzes the part of their immune system designed to protect them
against bacterial invaders, said Sullivan's study, reported this month
in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
The study echoes reports showing that up to 95 percent of the nearly
50 million victims of the 1918 flu pandemic died from secondary
bacterial pneumonia, which invaded people weakened by the flu virus,
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday.
Bacterial pneumonia remains a major threat today, despite antibiotics,
doctors told the Post-Gazette.