Underlying chronic illnesses can cause problems, with the body's ability to tackle swine flu being impaired

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 22:47

SWINE flu, like normal winter flu, can be more serious in people who are already unwell due to a number of chronic conditions. Generally, these are illnesses where your immune system's response to infection is inhibited. This includes people with diseases such as certain blood disorders.

Asthma, which already affects your chest, also increases the risk from flu, as well as chronic obstructive airways disease.

With a cough or fever caused by flu, if you have already got underlying respiratory problems it is likely to be worse and could cause complications such as pneumonia.

With diabetes, your immune response is less effective if your condition is poorly controlled, making you more prone to flu complications.

And people on cancer treatments including chemotherapy are also at risk because these therapies affect the body's ability to combat infection.

If you have a chronic condition which affects your immune system, it is possible that the flu infection could swamp your body and the illness becomes more severe than it would be in other people. This makes you more prone to pick up secondary infections. Your body is inflamed and sore because of the flu and any other germs that are lurking around take the opportunity to take hold. That is where you may get complications like pneumonia.

The flu virus can also affect the heart, causing heart failure. It can affect the kidneys if they are already damaged and cause renal failure.

But the main effects are on the respiratory system, with conditions such as pneumonia causing severe illness in those who are already sick.

We have effective treatments to try to reduce the risks from secondary infections, such as antiviral and antibacterial drugs.

During the normal winter flu season, as well as older people the vaccination campaign also targets people with chronic illnesses.

If you are generally in good health, the flu will make you feel miserable – you will be sore, you'll have a fever, you'll be coughing and generally feeling unwell.

If it is swine flu you will be offered antiviral treatment, but even without that the vast majority of fit and healthy people would get over it as they would the normal, seasonal flu.

People die of flu every year in the UK and around the world.

It is very sad to see this mother die in Scotland. But people should not start panicking. The evidence from America, where they have seen thousands of cases, is that this strain of swine flu causes a relatively mild infection and most people recover very successfully.

&#149 Dr John Garner is a GP in Edinburgh