A new symptom of swine flu: seizures

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Four children in Dallas have developed neurological symptoms caused by the new H1N1 influenza virus, commonly called swine flu. According to a report in Thursday’s edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, two boys age 7 and 10 developed seizures and two older boys, age 11 and 17, developed hallucinations, difficulty standing and slowed speech. The symptoms were most likely caused by swelling and inflammation of the brain produced by the virus.

The four boys were among 405 laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 infection in the Dallas area and 44 hospitalizations. The results suggest that there have probably been many other cases elsewhere in the country that have not yet been reported to the CDC. Experts do not find the results surprising because about 5% of all childhood cases of encephalitis and similar brain problems are caused by seasonal flu.

But the findings do confirm that the novel H1N1 virus can cause such symptoms, although the complications observed in the boys were less severe than those associated with seasonal flu. The CDC recommended that children displaying the symptoms of encephalitis, such as seizures, be tested for the virus and that treatment with the antiviral drug Tamiflu begin immediately.

The CDC this week also issued new recommendations for who should receive the seasonal flu vaccine. It now is ‘recommending’ that all children and adolescents between 6 months and 18 years old receive the vaccine. In the past, the agency had only ‘encouraged’ parents to vaccinate. The CDC has been moving toward the recommendation over the last two years but, this year especially, does not want two different varieties of flu running rampant.

The agency’s committee on vaccines will meet Wednesday to issue recommendations for who should receive priority for receiving the new swine flu vaccine.

-- Thomas H. Maugh II