HIV patients at higher risk from flu, WHO says

[Roon]

GENEVA, May 2 (Reuters) - People with HIV are at high risk from the new flu strain that the World Health Organisation said is on the verge of a pandemic, the WHO said on Saturday.

The United Nations agency said people with immunodeficiency diseases -- including the AIDS virus -- will most likely be vulnerable to health complications from the H1N1 strain, as they are from regular seasonal flu, which kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people a year.

HIV and the new flu strain could also mix together in a dangerous way, as has occurred with HIV and tuberculosis, the WHO said in guidance for health workers on its website.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2516414.htm