Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
What Are Underlying Conditions, Anyway?
By
Jen Chung
Published May 28, 2009
Modified May 28, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 28, 2009
Modified May 28, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With another school—this time, in Manhattan's Morningside Heights—closing due to high student absentee rates, worries about the swine flu continue. The NY Times tries to delve into what "underlying conditions"—something that the four swine flu victims who died had in common—actually are. Conditions like "diabetes, asthma, heart disease, lung disease, a weakened immune system and, possibly, obesity... could aggravate the effects of swine flu." The widow of Mitch Wiener, an assistant principal in Queens who was the first New Yorker to die from the H1N1 virus, told the Times, "Many, many people share the same underlying causes that my husband had, and if he’s at risk, many people are at risk," and was skeptical of the conditions playing a part in his death, "He was overweight and he was taking medicine for high blood pressure. How many people 50 and above don’t?"
Tagged
h1n1
mitch wiener
swine flu
underlying conditions
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
The $1.9 billion project isn't expected to wrap up until 2032.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 12:59 p.m. ET
Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB
Officials say retired NYPD detective Victor Romero, 62, killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine in a road rage incident.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB
Officials say retired NYPD detective Victor Romero, 62, killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine in a road rage incident.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
MTA suspending bus fare enforcement teams after altercations emerge
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
NYC's horse carriage industry facing potential extinction with Thursday Council vote
By
Catalina Gonella
Jersey City housing development deal expected to send money to schools, city government
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .