Another oddity that caught the eye recently as we head into flu season is the fact that Bird flu is less of a risk if you’re over 48 years old!
Well whoop dee doo.
Apparently some immunity against the H5N1 virus is conferred by having been exposed to H1 and H2 strains of the flu virus, which were prevalent before 1968. Research by the University of California has shown that people exposed to the H1 and h2 strains of flu as children are largely protected against H5N1. H3 strain of flu virus became more prevalent after 1968, and people born later have more immunity to the less risky H7N9 strain of the flu virus.
With all these numbers and letters the flu is becoming more and more difficult to get one’s head around.
