Swine Flu More Deadly in Hispanic Children

Swine Flu More Severe on Hispanics, African Americans

Oct. 7, 2009
Rob Kuznia--HispanicBusiness.com


Swine flu is taking a disproportionate toll on Hispanics and blacks, with high percentages of children deaths (though small overall numbers) and a higher rate of adult hospitalization.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control released a report showing that a third of the 36 children who had succumbed to swine flu as of Sept. 4 were Hispanic, even though Hispanics make up just 15 percent of the U.S. population.

The number of children deaths has since reached 60, but the CDC hasn't released another ethnic breakdown since the last report, the New York Daily News reports.

The H1N1 virus also appears to be more severe on Hispanic and black adults.

In Boston, 75 percent of the people hospitalized have been Hispanic or black, even though, combined, they make up less than 40 percent of the city's population.

In Chicago, a study revealed that blacks and Hispanics were four times more likely than whites to be hospitalized.

Experts attribute the disparities to how the virus tends to be particularly harmful to people with already compromised health, and Hispanics and African Americans suffer disproportionately from asthma and obesity, the News reports.