Children under 5 most at risk from virus

AN assessment of the behaviour of the swine flu virus in the southern hemisphere shows illness rates tended to be highest in children under the age of five and lowest in those aged 60+.

However death rates from the H1N1 virus appear relatively low and most countries reported mortality rates of less than one per 100,000.

The analysis, published in online journal Eurosurveillance, looks at the effects of the virus during the winter period in the southern hemisphere and finds a level of consistency including higher admission rates to intensive care among vulnerable groups such as pregnant women (nine time higher than expected in Australasia), severely obese people (five times higher) and those with asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases (twice as high).