swine flu overreaction
About the vaccines..?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this strain of “Swine Flu” apparently affects young adults worse because it induces a cytokine storm/causes an immune system overreaction?
How could a vaccination (I read that it is hoped that one will be available in 4months-ish) possibly help, then? I thought that a vaccination increases your immune response to whatever it was meant to prevent, by developing antibodies? Doesn’t this mean that if you were to catch the disease, it would just make things worse? Or am I totally misunderstanding everything?
oops, I mean healthy adults.. ie from age 20 to 40
The theory of a Cytokine storm is that when a very healthy immune system encounters a new & highly pathogenic infection it may over-react and essentially flood the point of infection with immune cells (the body uncontrollably produces these immune cells). It’s like the country is being invaded & there’s only one soldier guarding it – so he calls in a nuclear strike.
A vaccination prepares the body for this new infection. The right type of anti-bodies are on hand & the immune system doesn’t get the message that it’s about to be overwhelmed. The borders are guarded by a well-armed army & they don’t panic as a result!
Hope this helps
Swine Flu: Overreaction
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