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?are we prepared? When hospitals fill up, we’ll use nursing homes?are they ready? – In the July 21st edition of the Independent, Ben Russell writes that the world is failing to guard against the inevitable spread of a devastating flu pandemic which could kill 50 million people and wreak massive disruption around the globe. And one place where flu would spread quickly but plans haven?t been made is in nursing homes, whose residents are some of the most vulnerable to flu.
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Why does the flu strike in cold weather? It’s a tough year for the flu: this year the virus mutated after the flu vaccine was produced, meaning that only 40% of people who took the shot are protected.

Researchers have discovered that flu viruses cover themselves with a warm winter “coat” of fat that hardens into a gel to protect them from the cold. This coating melts in the higher temperatures present in our bodies, giving the virus a chance to infect us.

BBC News quotes researcher Duane Alexander as saying, “Now that we understand how the flu virus protects itself so that it can spread from person to person, we can work on ways to interfere with that protective mechanism.”
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We’ve told you how to make your flu shot work better, but the big question is: why does flu strike during the winter?

In LiveScience.com, Dave Mosher writes about a new study that shows that the flu virus?s success depends on low relative humidity and cold temperatures?and that describes winter weather. The virus can live longer in cold, dry weather than it can in hot, humid conditions. Mosher quotes virologist Peter Palese as saying, “We’ve always thought the immune system wasn’t as active during the winter, but that doesn’t really seem to be the case.”

Viruses like the ones that cause the flu aren’t killed by antibiotics, and today they cause more human deaths than almost anything else. But there may be a new way to kill them: SHAKE them to death.
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What if you could take a single flu shot that would protect you for the rest of your life, just like your other vaccines do? Believe it or not, this may be coming up soon! The reason that flu shots change every year is because the flu virus keeps changing. BBC News reports that another benefit would be that the vaccine could be stockpiled in case of a bird flu epidemic.

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk You never know what you’re going to learn next on unknowncountry.com, but without your support, what you might learn is that we won’t be here anymore! Make sure that doesn’t happen: Get your 2008 calendar from our store, click the new “donate” button on our homepage and?best of all?subscribe today! Subscribers get special interviews just for them, as well as a chance to chat!read more