Fighting Flu

Anyone with kids will know how easily they pick up and spread germs, and they're prime spreaders of the influenza virus that causes flu – an infection that kills around half a million people worldwide every year. While most people who catch flu recover quickly, it can cause big problems for the elderly, babies and people with certain health conditions such as asthma. In the UK, vaccines are offered every year to people over 65 to help cut the deaths and other serious side effects that come with catching flu. Researchers have now shown that vaccinating children could also make a difference, by boosting overall immunity to the virus and helping to protect grandparents and other older family members. Flu vaccines for children are being rolled out in England and Wales in the form of a nose spray, which could help cut flu infections and deaths in the wider population.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image courtesy of Wellcome Library
• Wellcome Images
• Originally published under a Creative Commons license
• Research published in PLoS Medicine, October 2013