posted on Jun, 7 2009 @ 04:34 AM
My husband and I each had a bad flu- unlike any other- in Feb/March. Certain it was H1N1. So- when the virus returns in the autumn, those of us who
have had it will be fine- we will have antibody to it. If, however, it mutates in the S. Hemishpere, even though we've had it this year, we will
have no native immunity to it, and we will be just as vulnerable as the next person.
If the actual strain stays the same, we might have a milder infection, despite mutation. We have to take into account, however, the addition of
viulence factors to the RNA of the virus. If they are changing (as they appear to be- people have been ill for weeks before dying- now they are dying
in 1-3 days), even that mild antibody response to the surface proteins of the viral capsid won't protect us from the virulence genes released when
the cell is invaded. IgG/M, etc., can't be everywhere at once- so evenif ONE virion gains entrance into a cell, with a mutated virulence gene- we
all got the flu "for nothing" this year.
EDIT to add: Better to BOOST yours and your childrens' immune systems with diet, excercise, sunshine (vit D), slippery elm, CoQ10, orgo food, etc.,
than lower it by exposure to flu now. Pople who died in the largest numbers in the Black deathand in 1918- from two radically different diseases-
were those who were weakened by a prior infection: measles, influenza, smallpox, TB, malnutrition (taco bell, anyone? diet soda?). Those who lived
were lucky enough to self-quaratine, or had NOT had an illness that had previously attacked their immune systems.
[edit on 7-6-2009 by CultureD]