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We’ve written about how working out at the gym before you get your flu shot will make it work better. Now we’ve learned that your annual flu shot may protect you against bird flu as well.

The yearly flu vaccine that health officials urge people to get each fall might also offer certain individuals some cross protection against the H5N1 (bird flu) virus, commonly known as bird flu as well. Investigators found that a protein present in the annual influenza shot can act as a vaccine itself and trigger some cross protection against H5N1 in mice; and that some human volunteers already had antibodies directed against the same part of this virus.
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It’s flu season, and we hope you’ve gotten your flu vaccination this year (it’s a myth that flu shots give you the flu?they can’t. But it sometimes seems that way when people have already been exposed to the flu virus by the time they get their injection). Scientists have found a way to enhance the flu vaccine’s immune response, so it will work better.

A new study has found that a brief session of muscle-building exercise, such as weight lifting, before receiving a flu shot can enhance a person’s immune response. The immune system’s reaction differs markedly between men and women, however, and exactly how exercise influences the process remains unclear.
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When temperatures dip, most people spend more time indoors?where they may have prolonged contact with others who may be sick. You catch a cold by hand-to-hand contact with someone who has already has one, or by using shared objects such as doorknobs, computer keyboards or telephones. Once you touch your mouth, nose or eyes after such exposure, you’ve got it too. But chicken soup?and other liquids?CAN help. But why do our bodies react to some viruses in such a self-destructive way?
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Bird flu is a killer when it infects human beings, but so far it has not mutated into a virus that people can catch from each other. Now scientists are learning why. Scientists are learning why the avian flu virus H5N1 has not yet mutated into a strain that can be transmitted between humans. It turns out that the avian strain can’t bind to human cells. But only one major mutation is needed for the flu to become transmittable between people. Is this mutation likely to occur?
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