An Australian expert has warned on Monday asthma and A/H1N1 flu are a potentially deadly mix.

Dr. Matthew Peters, head of respiratory medicine at a Sydney Hospital, said chronic heart or lung disease and diabetes were common ailments that could dramatically escalate the risk posed by the A/H1N1 virus.

"Around 40 percent of admissions to hospital with swine flu-related illnesses in the United States have been in people with asthma," said Peters.

The age spectrum of AH1N1 flu-related admissions has been from early childhood through to the mid 50s, and people with underlying chronic illness are at the greatest risk, he said.

Asthma is the commonest chronic illness in that age group, so they're all the reasons to worry about asthma in terms of this epidemic, he said.

People who have had transplants and who have an underlying blood or immune system disorder are inclined to be hit by the AH1N1 virus, he added.

Australia has one of the highest prevalences of asthma in the world, with one in seven people afflicted with the lung condition.

The country has 1,762 confirmed cases as of Monday, among which1,210 cases are from Victoria. In total, ten have been hospitalized and three of which under intensive care.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2009)