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Many Hospitalized With Swine Flu Had Been Healthy

TUESDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- While the majority of people hospitalized with the H1N1 swine flu have chronic medical conditions, many were healthy before coming down with the disease, a U.S. health official said Tuesday.

More than half of hospitalized adults had conditions such as asthma, chronic lung diseases, heart disease or immune system disorders, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during an afternoon press conference.

But, she added, "This virus can be serious even in people with no underlying conditions."

Among adults hospitalized with the H1N1 swine flu, 45 percent did not have a pre-existing medical problem and 6 percent were pregnant, Schuchat said. Among hospitalized children, 5.8 percent had sickle anemia or another blood disorder, she said.

"The most common underlying conditions [for children] were asthma and chronic lung disease, neuromuscular diseases and sickle cell or other blood disorders," Schuchat said.

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