Obese at highest risk

People who are obese but otherwise healthy may be at special risk of severe complications and death from the new H1N1 swine flu virus, US researchers report. They describe the cases of 10 patients at a Michigan hospital who were so ill they had to be put on ventilators. Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely obese, including two of the three who died.

The study, published in advance in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on death and disease, also suggests doctors can safely double the usual dose of oseltamivir, Roche AG's antiviral drug sold under the Tamiflu brand name.

"What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients," says CDC virus expert Dr Tim Uyeki.