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Most Americans' Antibodies Ready to Squash Swine Flu
<cite class="vcard"> Amanda Chan
myhealthnewsdaily Staff Writer
</cite>? <abbr title="2010-09-28T09:50:26-0700" class="timedate">Tue Sep 28, 12:50 pm ET
</abbr>
<!-- end .byline --> If the H1N1 virus is to continue its contagious ways this coming flu season, it will have to adapt to a highly immune population, according to a new study.
Epidemiologists estimate that 183 million Americans - 59 percent of the U.S. population - are already immune to the pandemic H1N1 strain of the influenza virus, also known as swine flu.
People have become immune because they've been either exposed to the virus or vaccinated, the researchers say. Immune people have built up antibodies to defend against the outside invader. . . .
In the upcoming season, H1N1 will behave similarly to the 1968 pandemic virus, which caused few deaths, according to the study.
Nineteen percent of the U.S. population was already immune to the H1N1 virus when it came on the scene in March 2009, Morens said. This was probably due to exposure to the 1918 Spanish flu, the ancestor to the modern-day H1N1 strain, he said.
Older adults may have had immunity because of vaccinations they received in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for similar H1N1 viruses. . .
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience.../mostamericansantibodiesreadytosquashswineflu
<cite class="vcard"> Amanda Chan
myhealthnewsdaily Staff Writer
</cite>? <abbr title="2010-09-28T09:50:26-0700" class="timedate">Tue Sep 28, 12:50 pm ET
</abbr>
<!-- end .byline --> If the H1N1 virus is to continue its contagious ways this coming flu season, it will have to adapt to a highly immune population, according to a new study.
Epidemiologists estimate that 183 million Americans - 59 percent of the U.S. population - are already immune to the pandemic H1N1 strain of the influenza virus, also known as swine flu.
People have become immune because they've been either exposed to the virus or vaccinated, the researchers say. Immune people have built up antibodies to defend against the outside invader. . . .
In the upcoming season, H1N1 will behave similarly to the 1968 pandemic virus, which caused few deaths, according to the study.
Nineteen percent of the U.S. population was already immune to the H1N1 virus when it came on the scene in March 2009, Morens said. This was probably due to exposure to the 1918 Spanish flu, the ancestor to the modern-day H1N1 strain, he said.
Older adults may have had immunity because of vaccinations they received in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for similar H1N1 viruses. . .
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience.../mostamericansantibodiesreadytosquashswineflu