Three new studies on the H1N1 flu are giving doctors a new understanding of who the virus attacks.
As Drew Levinson reports, the research, which focuses on hospitalized patients in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, is also giving doctors a new treatment option for those most critically ill.
The H1N1 virus is unique because of who it hits hardest.
And new research shows relatively healthy adults and adolescents are more likely to become critically ill.
A Canadian study found the average age of swine flu victims admitted to the invensive care unit was just 32 years old. A separate study in Mexico found it to be 44 years old.
The virus becomes dangerous when it attacks the respiratory system causing the lungs to fill with fluid.
When the body is deprived of oxygen, that's when H1N1 becomes potentially deadly.
But researchers believe they have found a treatment option that can save lives.
The treatment is usually reserved for premature babies who have trouble breathing.
It's called ECMO. The patient's blood is run through a machine that pumps oxygen into the blood before returning it to the body.
Doctors in Australia used it on dozens of severly ill H1N1 patients and found the machine helped most of them survive.
US doctors plan to start trying the treatment here.
Physicians are looking for any advance they can find.
H1N1 has already killed more than 600 people in the US and is expected to continue to spread.
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