Degree of protection the human immune system from a particular virus depends on its age.
Scientists from the University of Arizona along with staff of the University of California found that year of birth can you predict the probability of getting a serious illness or even die from the virus.
A group of researchers studied the history of the two strains of bird flu — H5N1 and H7N9 — each of which became the cause of hundreds of severe illnesses and deaths during the epidemic. Analyzing all the cases, the experts found that the degree of protection of the human immune system from a particular virus depends on its age.
When a person first becomes infected with one subtype of influenza virus, the immune system in the process creates a “protection” it is from this subtype. In the future the body will not be susceptible to this virus, however, will be vulnerable to the other. Immunologists divided subtypes of influenza in two groups: the first group includes H1, H2 and H5, and the second — H3 and H7.
So, people who were born before the end of 1960-ies was immune to viruses like H5N1, as ill them in childhood, but died from H7N9. Those who were born after 1960-ies, on the contrary, were protected from H7, and infected with H5 viruses. This observation, scientists can now predict when and what virus will be severe complications, and can move forward in the creation of a universal vaccine.
In October, French biologists from Nantes University to find out why the Spanish flu pandemic (“Spanish flu”) has led to numerous victims. It turned out that the cause is a mutation that changes one amino acid in the hemagglutinin (eng. HA) — a protein that provides the ability of the virus to contact the cell.
