tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Minor strains of flu, which are not targeted by vaccines, spread quicker than scientists previously believed. Vaccines aim to attack the dominant strains of influenza as they infect more people, but minor strains, which sneak into the body with dominant strains, replicate quickly and are unaffected by vaccines.
The research, from New York University, builds upon our knowledge that some forms of the influenza virus have large genetic diversity, so can be troublesome to remove from the body. These viruses can be broken down into two general categories: dominant and minor strains of the virus. Vaccines target dominant strains because it infects more people than the minor strains. However, this new research shows that the minor strains of flu can spread between individuals quicker than believed ? rivalling the dominant strains.
"A flu-virus infection is a mix of strains that gets transmitted as a swarm in the population," said Elodie Ghedin, researcher on the study. "Current vaccines target the dominant strains. But our findings reveal an ability of minor strains to elude these vaccines and spread the virus in ways not previously known."
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http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/flu-has-be...out-minor-strains-race-between-humans-1535909
The research, from New York University, builds upon our knowledge that some forms of the influenza virus have large genetic diversity, so can be troublesome to remove from the body. These viruses can be broken down into two general categories: dominant and minor strains of the virus. Vaccines target dominant strains because it infects more people than the minor strains. However, this new research shows that the minor strains of flu can spread between individuals quicker than believed ? rivalling the dominant strains.
"A flu-virus infection is a mix of strains that gets transmitted as a swarm in the population," said Elodie Ghedin, researcher on the study. "Current vaccines target the dominant strains. But our findings reveal an ability of minor strains to elude these vaccines and spread the virus in ways not previously known."
...
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/flu-has-be...out-minor-strains-race-between-humans-1535909