Another Good Reason to Have a Flu Shot

As the bird flu virus continues to spark outbreaks amongst bird colonies in Europe and other parts of the world, there’s increasing anxiety about the lack of preparedness for a possible human pandemic. There now comes a very small piece of good news. As expected, the bird flu virus H5N1 is sufficiently similar to everyday human flu (H1N1, this year) that some people may have partial immunity to it. Researchers at St Jude’s Childrens Hospital, Memphis, have reported in the online journal Public Library of Science Medicine that mice immunized with a part of the H1N1 virus develop antibodies against a similar portion of the H5N1 virus. More importantly, the scientists were able to show that some humans already have antibodies that can inhibit the same part of the H5N1. This suggests that some people – about one in five – may have immunity to the bird flu virus.

What makes it even more interesting is the idea that seasonal flu shots may have helped to build up this immunity in some people. Maybe someone will develop a (simple) test to see if one is the one in five, or not.

Whatever – it’s an encouraging finding that should encourage everyone to get a flu shot every year.