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Regular flu shots will not protect you from H1N1

Last Updated 11 September 2009, 18:16 IST

Writing in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, have reported that regular flu vaccine may have no effect irrespective of patient's age.

The findings are consistent with the vast genetic variance of the pandemic H1N1 viruses of swine origin, as compared with seasonal human H1N1 viruses.

The pandemic virus has a direct genetic linkage with the 1918 Spanish Flu virus that killed millions throughout the world.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention study was conducted because little is known about the level of pre-existing immunity to H1N1 and determining such immunity could help shape the vaccination strategy.

None of the seasonal vaccine formulations elicited a cross-reactive antibody response against 2009 H1N1, the CDC researchers reported, adding 104 samples were analysed to arrive at the conclusion.

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(Published 11 September 2009, 18:16 IST)

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