Lymphomas and Swine Flu

Update

As of the end of the day May 16, 2009, the World Health Organization is reporting 8,451 cases of Swine Flu, influenza A (H1N1) in 36 countries worldwide.

Swine Flu

In order to see if any of the major health organizations were making recommendations regarding Swine Flu and lymphomas, I consulted the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's specific information page, the CDC's general information page, and the pages of the World Health Organization.

Symptoms

So what kinds of symptoms are people with swine flu showing? Although they will vary in severity from person to person, in general the organizations are reporting the following:

• Fever
• Cough, sore throat
• Body aches, headache
• Chills
• Fatigue

Diarrhea and vomiting, and in the most severe cases, pneumonia, respiratory failure and death, have also been reported. As you can tell, these symptoms aren't much different from the symptoms brought on annually by the more familiar flu virus.

Should Patients With Lymphomas Take Any Special Precautions?

People suffering from chronic medical conditions and those with weakened immune systems are advised to be especially cautious, but this advisement is true every year for the flu season; it's not unique to Swine Flu.

Ultimately, none of the sites I sourced had any direct information for people with lymphomas or leukemias. Consequently, patients and their caregivers are advised to consult with their family doctor or health care professional.

You can get daily updates on Swine Flu from the WHO update page.