Obesity a risk factor in swine flu

Some swine flu cases in Michigan are raising questions about obesity's role in why some people with infections become seriously ill.

Photo: Obesity a risk factor in swine flu

Obesity a risk factor in swine flu

A high proportion of those who have gotten severely ill from swine flu have been obese or extremely obese, but health officials have said that might be due to the fact that heavy people tend to have asthma and other conditions that make them more susceptible. Obesity alone has never been seen as a risk factor for seasonal flu, The Associated Press reports.

California will receive more than $30 million in federal grants to help prepare for an expected resurgence of the swine flu in the coming influenza season, federal public health authorities announced Friday.

The money will go primarily toward distribution of a vaccine to protect against the swine flu, a form of influenza Type A, subtype H1N1. Federal officials said the vaccine, which could be available in October, probably will go first to schoolchildren, adults with health problems, pregnant women and health care workers.

The funding for California is part of a $350 million package to prepare for swine flu outbreaks nationwide in the fall, reports San Francisco Chronicle .