They Say: Pregnant Women With The Flu Should Take Antivirals

Given that pregnant women are among those considered at high risk for severe cases of swine flu, and there has been at least one death, concerned doctors have experimented with giving them antiviral medications early, to apparently good results.

The numbers are small (20 women tracked so far), and drugs like Tamiflu are usually not recommended during pregnancy, but the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention has decided that the known risks to mother and baby from flu outweigh the unknown possible dangers of the drug to the foetus, and is recommending the drug to all pregnant women with flu symptoms and “a history of likely contact with someone else with swine flu” (whatever that means). Because timing matters, they don’t even want to wait for tests to come back.

Meanwhile, if this is making you feel like a hypochondriac again, check out this detailed description of when to worry—it’s not just a head cold.

Photo by kannon, via Flickr.