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SALT LAKE CITY -- As flu season approaches, some of us will spend days and nights coughing, wiping our runny noses, and popping medication to ease our aches and pains.
The rest of us will walk around with the flu virus and not feel a thing.
Michigan scientists found genetics might explain why only half of the 17 people who were injected with the flu virus experienced flu symptoms, while the rest did not.
"There are a lot of diseases that we just don't respond the same to," said Dr. Stephen Devenport, a family physician at Granger Medical in Riverton.
The Michigan research was the first of its kind and is published in the August 2011 Journal PLoS Genetics. Scientists discovered that everyone who is exposed to the flu actually is affected by it, but their bodies just have a different way of reacting.
There are a lot of diseases that we just don't respond the same to.
–Dr. Stephen Devenport
Devenport says one would expect that everyone would have the same reaction, but that's not the case.
"Our immune systems will determine how we will respond to the flu virus," he explained.
Through an analysis of genes and blood samples, scientists noticed a genetic difference among those who became ill with the flu and those who did not -- some of that change occurring 36 hours before flu symptoms erupted.
"We might even be creating a hyper-immune response in some cases," explained Devenport, "where we're actually creating our own runny nose, creating our own cough because our immune system is so hyper-responsive."
While scientist can't pin-point exactly why genetics would play a role in catching the flu, they noticed high levels of anti-oxidants in the blood of the participants who did not get sick from the flu virus.
- Contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses
- Can cause mild to severe illness
- Can be fatal
- Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications
- CDC recommends an annual flu shot
"All of this hype that we've heard for a number of years about preventing cardiovascular disease," explained Devenport, "may actually apply to not getting sick, not getting some certain diseases, and colds."
At this point, Devenport says researchers cannot fully determine what protects people from catching the flu. He said more research is needed. He recommends people receive a flu shot and keep their hands clean to avoid getting the flu.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that of the 15 million to 60 million Americans that get the flu each year, 5,000 to 45,000 die from it. About 200,000 people end up in the hospital with the flu each year.
E-mail: niyamba@ksl.com
