A Rare Bug

Jim Craigmyle/Corbis

No one wants to get the flu, and a new study suggests that, while kids get it about once every other year, adults don't really succumb to it that often ~ approximately twice every 10 years, in fact. It seems that this is a result of immunities built up over the childhood years. According to this article, "The immune system responds to flu viruses by producing antibodies that specifically target proteins on the virus surface. These proteins can change as the virus evolves, but we keep antibodies in the blood that have a memory for strains we've encountered before." Mostly, when those of us over the age of 30 think we have a flu, what's really making us miserable is a common cold: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150303141546.htm