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16 Aug 2009, 0725 hrs IST, Rumu Banerjee, TNN
NEW DELHI: If preliminary analysis of data collected from H1N1-positive cases in the city is any indicator, the elderly may be more immune to the
virus than others. Officials in the state health department said the data revealed that few cases of H1N1 had appeared among those who are aged above 65 years.
Said a senior health official, ??We haven?t done an in-depth analysis of the data yet, but initial findings suggest the elderly may have more immunity to the virus than young adults and children. This may explain why there aren?t any positive cases of H1N1 among those aged above 65 in the city.??
It?s a phenomenon that is not confined to Delhi only. Admitted Dr Bir Singh, professor of community medicine at AIIMS, ??Its a very peculiar phenomenon, and we have seen it in Pune and Mumbai as well. There isn?t any single explanation for it. In fact, it?s a matter for epidemiological investigation.??
While doctors were not willing to hazard a guess as to why the elderly seem to have been spared till now, a recent study published in journal Nature suggested it could be because older people might have received exposure to a similar strain of virus during earlier pandemics. In fact, the Nature report, which assessed the immune response of different groups to the new virus, found that many aged above 65 carried antibodies that could neutralise the H1N1 virus.
Dr NK Chaturvedi, MS, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, however, said it was too early to reach a conclusion. ??It?s only been five months since the virus was detected. We need more research before we can give an unqualified reason behind this anomaly.?? Dr Chaturvedi though admitted that in the past few weeks, he hadn?t seen anyone aged above 65 coming to RML for H1N1 flu testing.
??There could be many reasons, exposure to a similar strain before or simply less exposure to the outside world. But the fact is that the elderly are also in the higher-risk group, as their immunity is generally lower. Which is why the government has kept them in the second category of patients, who need to be administered preventive medication if they come in contact with suspected cases,?? added Dr Singh.
Officials in the health department said the data would soon be analysed so that the findings could be shared with the medical community. ??It could help us tackle the virus,?? added the official.
In the US and Europe the findings were similar. A study by the US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one-third of senior citizens had some immunity to swine flu. These findings, which came out in May, were backed by another study released in July.
NEW DELHI: If preliminary analysis of data collected from H1N1-positive cases in the city is any indicator, the elderly may be more immune to the
virus than others. Officials in the state health department said the data revealed that few cases of H1N1 had appeared among those who are aged above 65 years.
Said a senior health official, ??We haven?t done an in-depth analysis of the data yet, but initial findings suggest the elderly may have more immunity to the virus than young adults and children. This may explain why there aren?t any positive cases of H1N1 among those aged above 65 in the city.??
It?s a phenomenon that is not confined to Delhi only. Admitted Dr Bir Singh, professor of community medicine at AIIMS, ??Its a very peculiar phenomenon, and we have seen it in Pune and Mumbai as well. There isn?t any single explanation for it. In fact, it?s a matter for epidemiological investigation.??
While doctors were not willing to hazard a guess as to why the elderly seem to have been spared till now, a recent study published in journal Nature suggested it could be because older people might have received exposure to a similar strain of virus during earlier pandemics. In fact, the Nature report, which assessed the immune response of different groups to the new virus, found that many aged above 65 carried antibodies that could neutralise the H1N1 virus.
Dr NK Chaturvedi, MS, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, however, said it was too early to reach a conclusion. ??It?s only been five months since the virus was detected. We need more research before we can give an unqualified reason behind this anomaly.?? Dr Chaturvedi though admitted that in the past few weeks, he hadn?t seen anyone aged above 65 coming to RML for H1N1 flu testing.
??There could be many reasons, exposure to a similar strain before or simply less exposure to the outside world. But the fact is that the elderly are also in the higher-risk group, as their immunity is generally lower. Which is why the government has kept them in the second category of patients, who need to be administered preventive medication if they come in contact with suspected cases,?? added Dr Singh.
Officials in the health department said the data would soon be analysed so that the findings could be shared with the medical community. ??It could help us tackle the virus,?? added the official.
In the US and Europe the findings were similar. A study by the US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one-third of senior citizens had some immunity to swine flu. These findings, which came out in May, were backed by another study released in July.
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