An aboriginal man drinks a beverage outside a store in the remote outback town of Wadeye in the Northern Territory, Australia, 01 Jun 2009As the number of swine flu cases in Australia soars past 4,500, newresearch indicates that indigenous people may be more susceptible tothe contagious virus, compounding an array of existing healthconditions. The findings have been detailed in the medical journalThe Lancet. The authors have warned of a looming international publichealth catastrophe.

Expertsare concerned that indigenous peoples, such as Australia's Aboriginesand Native American Indians, suffer poor health that puts them athigher risk from the H1N1 virus, which is commonly known as swine flu.

One Aboriginal man in Australia has already died from the infection, while Native Indians in Canada have seen many cases.

Australianresearchers, writing in The Lancet, have warned that the risk ofindigenous groups contracting the potentially deadly respiratorydisease is heightened because they are more likely to be malnourishedand living in poverty.

They say the "Westernization" of dietshas exacerbated health problems. Many indigenous people now eat foodsloaded with excessive sugar, salt and fat.

The researchers sayother factors have also contributed to this increased vulnerability toswine flu, including the widespread use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

ProfessorMichael Gracey, a medical advisor to the Aboriginal-run organizationUnity of First People of Australia, says lifestyle diseases have leftindigenous populations more susceptible to the H1N1 virus.

"Theirgeneral poor standard of health and the fact that many Indigenouspeople in Australia unfortunately are smokers or have been smokersmakes them much more susceptible to respiratory illnesses," he said.

Experts say another problem faced by aboriginal communities is their geographical isolation and lack of medical workers.

Tenpeople have died in Australia from swine flu, including athree-year-old boy. In the northern state of Queensland, prisoninmates are being given antiviral drugs after outbreaks in two penalinstitutions.

The authorities say that for most patients, swine flu has caused only a mild illness.

Elsewherein the South Pacific, almost one thousand cases of the virus have beenconfirmed in New Zealand, while a handful of infections have also beenreported in Vanuatu, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.