Do your kids have asthma? Then they’re at higher risk for H1N1 complications.

Young children have always been a high-risk group for contracting the pandemic H1N1 virus. Now, a new study shows that if your child has asthma the risk for serious H1N1 complications also rises significantly. Read on for more reason to take steps to protect your family from the virus.

The new study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal is the second largest done on the asthma-H1N1 link, as of today. Researchers examined charts of 58 flu cases admitted to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

They found that among kids infected with the typical seasonal flu, only six percent had asthma. Among children with confirmed H1N1 flu, a much higher 22 percent were asthmatics. Another red alert for asthma sufferers: Nearly half of all H1N1 admissions to intensive care units were children with asthma.

Lead researcher Doctor Dat Tran found that the severity of asthma did not have a bearing on wether or not a child would contract the H1N1 virus. From severe to mild asthmatics – all asthmatic kids were high risk.

Dr. Upton Allen from the Hospital for Sick Children notes that “the most striking finding in our study was the high prevalence of asthma among children admitted with pandemic H1N1 influenza compared with those admitted in previous influenza seasons.”

The American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has always recommended that vaccination efforts prioritize target groups at higher risk for H1N1 complications or who could transmit the virus to others at risk. These groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months, health care and emergency medical services personnel, people 6 months through 24 years of age, and people 25 years through 64 years of age who have certain medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications. Asthma is one such condition.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I do notice many kids these days have a history of this respiratory illness – my daughter included.  Now we know if you or any of your kids have a history of asthma, getting vaccinated and practicing good disease preventive hygene is very important. These latest studies and health statistics should not be ignored.

But here’s some news that’s a bit troubling. According to an ABC News/Washington Post survey, nearly four in ten parents do not plan to have their children vaccinated against H1N1, despite evidence the virus is having a bigger impact on the young than on other priority groups identified by the CDC. The stats are also sobering for adults. Only 35 percent of American adults indicated they plan to be vaccinated.

In a November 2009 report by federal health officials, at least 22 million Americans have come down with the H1N1 swine flu since the virus surfaced April this year. So far, 3,900 people have died including 540 children.

Have your kids been vaccinated against H1N1? How about you?

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