These include people with a previous serious illness, medium or severe asthma, long-term pulmonary conditions, diabetes, serious heart conditions, long-term kidney conditions, serious liver insufficiency, long-term neurological illness, pregnant women, people with immunodeficiency or immunosuppression and the chronically obese.

The groups recommended to receive the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine include persons with an existing serious illness, moderate to serious asthma, chronic lung illness, diabetes, serious heart problems, chronic kidney illness, serious liver deficiency, chronic neurological illness, immune deficiency disorder, pregnant women or people with a BMI of over 40.

IT is not an exaggeration to say that some myalgic encephalomyelitis sufferers are dying for a definitive diagnostic test for this extremely disabling neurological illness, which may turn out to be a simple, cheap, effective one (The Journal, May 29).