SALT LAKE CITY -- Last year's pandemic influenza made a lot of people sick, but many kids got really sick.

New research released Sunday by the University of Utah shows the H1N1 virus apparently triggered a higher rate of neurological complications in children.

Dr. Josh Bonkowsky with the University of Utah Clinical Neurosciences Center said, "I've been working as a physician for approximately 10 years and had never seen so many kids with flu and neurological problems."


Dr. Josh Bonkowsky Bonkowsky and colleagues wondered if what they were seeing last year was a statistical aberration or something unique to H1N1. The data did, in fact, show the virus was perhaps more villainous than what they usually see with the traditional flu.

Seizures and encephalopathy were the most common complications. More than half the kids who had seizures developed a life-threatening condition called epilepticus, where continuous seizures happen for more than five to 30 minutes.

"I've been working as a physician for approximately ten years and had never seen so many kids with flu and neurological problems." -Dr. Josh BonkowskyWhile most children recovered, a few, even a year later, are still taking anti-seizure medications. Others are still experiencing some cognitive issues. Bonkowsky says one child in particular "lost a lot of developmental milestones by going back to being a young child -- a return almost to a toddler infant-type of cognition ability."

The research team also says H1N1 triggered an anomaly they haven't seen before from influenza infections. According to Bonkowsky, "The thing that surprised me most of all for the H1N1 flu and the kids who had the neurological complications were those who often had something we call aphasia, which means they lose the ability to talk."

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