[Pandemic influenza caused by A(H1N1) in pregnant women]

Pandemic influenza caused byA H1N1 virus, that started in Mexico in 2009 and that persist though with mortality and morbidity much lower rates, did not have the repercussions of the other pandemias in the 20th Century, this is because the members of the World Health Organization anticipated everything that was necessary to fight it since 1997, when that international organism suggested to be prepared because the bird flu H5N1 was suffering mutations and was creating a new type of virus that have already caused human deaths. This information allowed the creation of strategies to protect the world population and mainly the most vulnerable groups such as pregnant women. In this group the lung complications specially the pneumonia cases, leads to the patient hospitalization with a higher perinatal mortality rates. The signs and symptoms of seasonal influenza as well as A H1N1 influenza in pregnant women are always more serious, and this is why they need intensive treatments. However, not all patients need to be hospitalized nor to check with sophisticated exams the presence of the virus. Every unhealthy women need to be classified by their signs and symptoms according Triage scale, and their hospitalization has to be only if the situation gets worse or if a chronic disease complicate it such as diabetes, AIDS, heart condition, asthma, obesity, etc. According to the scale in which the patient has been classified, she needs to be isolated in her home and start a symptomatic treatment and add antiviral medications only in suspicious pandemic influenza cases. However if respiratory pathology gets worse the patient should be hospitalized immediately in a unit with the proper equipment. Every citizen must receive the A H1N1 vaccine, but pregnant women and breastfeeding women particularly. Pregnant women should receive the vaccine in any trimester of pregnancy, but especially in the last to prevent maternal and fetal complications as well as elevation of perinatal mortality.