Swine Flu Effects

Swine flu epidemic in 2009 is one of the most severe flu pandemic despite the resulting effect was relatively moderate. However, there were positive impacts caused by the flu, the researchers found a universal flu vaccine.

As is known, the H1N1 virus infects about sixty million people, although only 18 thousand of the dead. From the swine flu, researchers are now beginning to find the body's immune system with antibodies that can kill a new flu virus, not just H1N1.

From recent research carried out on nine people who survived after the swine flu, it was found that virus infection has caused the immune system in 9 people has increased dramatically. Their bodies produce antibodies that are not only needed to survive from swine flu, but can also be useful to counter a number of other flu variant that will attack their bodies.

A common variant of flu viruses like the flu or seasonal influenza viruses usually are made to make the flu vaccine did not activate it as many antibodies in the human body. That is, there is something unusual variant of the H1N1 flu virus that triggers the emergence of unusual immune response in humans.

The strength of the immune response due to H1N1 is very great. According to the researchers, five types of antibodies they studied enough to fight all the variations of seasonal flu, Spanish flu virus that killed 50 million people in 1918, and the highly lethal bird flu, or H5N1.

Researchers say, the uniqueness of swine flu is a trigger response of the human body. The immune system does not immediately know what to do deal with the virus. For that, the body begins producing lots of different antibodies on the basis of data of other flu viruses that have attacked the body.

When the immune system, the body finds the appropriate antibodies against swine flu. The body is already producing variants of antibodies that can be used to block a variety of other influenza variants.

Unknown whether the H1N1 vaccine can also transfer this super immune to another human body, however, it is on the priority list that will be studied.

"Many researchers are now trying to develop vaccines that can protect the body from different variants of the flu virus," said Sarah Gilbert, a virus expert from Oxford University, as quoted by the BBC, January 14, 2011.

"This effort to convince us that making a universal flu vaccine is very possible. But at least, still it took about 5 years until such vaccines available, "he said.

Unfortunately, within 5 years is long enough to remember every year, to 500 thousand people were killed by various kinds of influenza virus variants. However, if such a universal flu vaccine can actually cope with the various variants of flu viruses, within 5 years worth the wait.