Health
Why do some people end up in bed with a fever, runny nose and cough, while others seem to be getting away with the disease?
To find an answer to this question, scientists at the University of Michigan conducted the first study of its kind. They infected 17 healthy volunteers with the flu virus and found that everyone who was exposed to the flu became infected, but the participants' bodies responded differently to the virus. Half of the participants became ill, while the other half had virtually no symptoms.
“Many people think that if you were exposed to the virus and you didn't get sick, it was because the virus didn't “stick” to you, or it was too weak to go unnoticed. But that's not the case,” says Alfred Hero, a professor at the University of Michigan and author of the study.
Both when a person does not get sick and when he shows all the symptoms of influenza, there is an active immune reaction. It's just that this reaction varies from person to person.
Alfred Hero, along with colleagues from Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Institute for Genomic Science and Policy, studied participants' gene expressions to see how the immune system is reacted to the flu virus. During the data analysis, 22,000 genes and 267 blood samples were examined to find genomic traits that are related to the immune response in people who fell ill and those who did not get the flu.
They found that both people who had flu-like symptoms and those who did not have flu-like symptoms had a significant and complex immune response. The researchers identified changes in the participants' blood 36 hours before participants felt unwell.
However, it is still difficult for researchers to explain why other people did not get sick, as they also had an active immune response. Differences were found in biological metabolism and gene expression, and were related to antioxidants.
Ultimately, if scientists understand what happens at the gene level that makes people more or less susceptible to viral diseases, this could lead to the development of new treatments for preventing illness.
Experts also say that if you regularly drink juice and eat fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants, you will most likely be able to avoid getting sick with the flu.
This study could also lead to the development of a low-cost test that can tell a person 36 hours before symptoms appear whether they will get the flu. This way, a person can take a day off, cancel a vacation, or isolate themselves from other family members who are susceptible to the flu.