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Genetic test could reveal those most at risk from next influenza pandemic

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 02:49 EST, 26 March 2012 | UPDATED: 02:50 EST, 26 March 2012

A genetic discovery could help explain why flu makes some people seriously ill or kills them, while others seem able to bat it away with little more than a few aches, coughs and sneezes.

British and American researchers said they had found for the first time a human gene that influences how people respond to flu infections, making some people more susceptible than others.

A genetic clue may explain why some people experience mild flu symptoms while others are hospitalised

The finding helps explain why during the 2009/2010 pandemic of H1N1 or 'swine flu', the vast majority of people infected had only mild symptoms, while others - many of them healthy young adults - got seriously ill and died.

In future, the genetic discovery could help doctors screen patients to identify those more likely to be brought down by flu, allowing them to be selected for priority vaccination or preventative treatment during outbreaks, the researchers said.

It could also help develop new vaccines or medicines against potentially more dangerous viruses such as bird flu.

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Genetic flaw discovered that turns flu into a killer