|
Health & Wellness News From Byron J. Richards
Swine Flu Could Cause More Serious Lung InfectionsTuesday, September 15, 2009 - Byron Richards, CCNNew research demonstrates that the swine flu (H1N1) has the ability to bind deeper into the lungs than regular seasonal flu, identifying a keep mechanism that may make this flu a significant problem for many people. Up to this point the main public health concern has been that the flu is a new type that most people have not been exposed to during their life, thus making it easier for the virus to infect people. However, it has been hoped that the new swine flu will be no stronger than a typical flu. That may not be the case. Typical seasonal flu binds mostly to cells in the nose, throat and upper airway, enabling them to infect a person’s respiratory tract. The new research shows that the H1N1 swine flu can also attach to a receptor found on cells deep inside the lungs, which can result in a more severe lung infection. Up to this point the swine flu has been binding more weakly to those receptors in most people, although scientists are quite concerned that binding more strongly would be an easy and likely change. Professor Ten Feizi, a corresponding author of the study said: “Most people infected with swine-origin flu in the current pandemic have experienced relatively mild symptoms. However, some people have had more severe lung infections, which can be worse than those caused by seasonal flu. Our new research shows how the virus does this - by attaching to receptors mostly found on cells deep in the lungs. This is something seasonal flu cannot do. If the flu virus mutates in the future, it may attach to the receptors deep inside the lungs more strongly, and this could mean that more people would experience serious symptoms. We think scientists should be on the lookout for these kinds of changes in the virus so we can try to find ways of minimizing the impact of such changes.” Related Entries: The New Flu Vaccine Hype is Over-RatedUsing Nutrition to Help Perceive and Combat Swine Flu The Narrow Scope of Flu Vaccine Usefulness ### Other Health News
Pulling Data...
 Loading Navigation...
 Loading Content...
View complete Health News Archives
Categories:
Most Popular Health News:
|
Wellness Resources RSS feeds
952-929-4575 
800-717-WELL (9355) 7155 Amundson Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55439
Copyright © Wellness Resources, Inc. 1999-2010 - Terms & Conditions of Use
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Note: the asterisk mark following a paragraph and linking to the above FDA disclaimer applies to any or all statements in that paragraph.
