Women - Pregnant women at high risk for H1N1 flu

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Pregnant women at high risk for H1N1 flu

TORONTO (UPI) -- Pregnant women are at high risk of serious complications from the H1N1 A influenza virus, Japanese and Canadian researchers said.

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the Japan Drug Information Institute in Pregnancy in Tokyo said that pregnant women, especially those in the third trimester, are especially at risk of swine flu.

For treatment or prevention during the current pandemic, "oseltamivir appears to be the drug of choice because there are more data on its safety in pregnancy," Dr. Shinya Ito, head of the division of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at The Hospital for Sick Children said in a statement.

"Zanamivir can be used, although there is less data available about its safety in pregnant women."

Neither drug appears to affect the growth and development of the fetus, although ongoing data collection is important, the researchers said.

The groups at high risk of flu-related complications from the novel H1N1 influenza are the same as those for seasonal flu -- pregnant women, children under age 5, the elderly and others such as those with chronic lung conditions.

Only small amounts of oseltamivir and zanamivir are excreted into human milk, the researchers said.

The finding is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 06/18/2009

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