Hospitalised Malaysian children with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza: clinical characteristics, risk factors for severe disease and comparison with the 2002-2007 seasonal influenza

The pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza virus in 2009 resulted in extensive morbidity and mortality worldwide. As the virus was a novel virus, there was limited data available on the clinical effects of the virus on children in Malaysia. Herein, we describe the clinical characteristics of children hospitalised with H1N1 influenza in a tertiary care centre; we also attempted to identify the risk factors associated with disease severity.