https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20180614/who-will-and-who-wont-get-the-flu
Who Will and Who Won't Get the Flu?
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, June 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors can't yet predict if someone exposed to https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/default.htm" rel="nofollow - the flu will become sick. But such predictions may be getting closer to reality, new research hints.
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine say
they've identified a "biomarker" that indicates a person's
susceptibility to https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ss/slideshow-flu-symptoms-treatment" rel="nofollow - flu viruses.
"We've been after this for about four years," said study
senior author Purvesh Khatri, an associate professor of medicine and of
biomedical data science.
"To our knowledge, it's the first biomarker that shows susceptibility to https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/rm-quiz-flu-myths" rel="nofollow - influenza , across multiple strains," Khatri said in a university news release.
A https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rm-quiz-blood-basics" rel="nofollow - blood -based
gene called KLRD1 reveals the presence of a type of immune cell
believed crucial for halting flu infection in the early stages, the
study authors said.
The higher the levels of this cell in someone's https://www.webmd.com/heart/anatomy-picture-of-blood" rel="nofollow - blood , the less susceptible they are to the flu, the investigators said.
Khatri noted that the link between KLRD1 levels and https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/video/myths-and-facts-about-flu" rel="nofollow - influenza
susceptibility is only an association, and doesn't prove cause and
effect. The next step is to find the mechanism that may be at work.
"It will be crucial to understand the role of natural killer
cells' protection so that we can potentially leverage that in designing
better https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/prevention-15/vaccines/fact-sheet-vaccines" rel="nofollow - flu vaccines ,"
he said. "Since we see that natural killer cells are protective across
different strains, maybe that would be a path to a universal https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/video/truth-about-flu-shots" rel="nofollow - flu vaccine ."
The ability to identify people at highest risk for flu
infection could be very useful in certain situations, the researchers
said.
"If, for example, there's a flu epidemic going on, and
Tamiflu supplies are limited, this data could help identify who should
be [preventively] treated first," Khatri said.
The study was published online June 14 in the journal Genome Medicine.
------------- John L.
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