by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: December 20, 2009

Seniors are usually the group that is of highest risk of dying when a flu virus outbreak occurs, but where the H1N1 flu virus is concerned, seniors now actually appear to be the least likely group to contract this illness. Statistics are showing that about one third of all individuals over the age of 60 appear to have some immunity or antibodies to the H1N1 influenza strain.

This does not mean that seniors should not be immunized against this flu strain. Simply being over the age of 60 does not guarantee that you will be not catch this flu virus, it simply means that the odds of being immune to this illness are more in your favor, than for those who were born after 1957.

In a normal flu season people over the age of sixty-five would make up ninety percent of the death toll due the influenza outbreak, but the H1N1 statistics are showing a complete reversal of these numbers, and indicating that it is less than ten percent of the senior population who are actually dying from the H1N1 or swine flu virus. Seniors who do catch the swine flu, or H1N1 influenza virus, are however at a very high risk of suffering from complications from this illness. Those individuals with underlying health issues, or women who are pregnant, are most likely to die from the H1N1 flu virus strain.

It has now been discovered that in 1957 a pandemic flu virus hit which was very similar to this new H1N1influenza strain. The 1957 outbreak ran in two waves, and it is believed that those who were inflected by that influenza outbreak, now have antibodies in them which protect them from this new wave of the H1N1 flu virus.

Those individuals who were of school age during the 1957 outbreak, or who had siblings who were of school age, were much more likely to have contracted the illness. This is believed to be the reason why so many people over the age of 60 are now showing immunity to this new influenza flu strain. They now carry antibodies to this flu within them.Thirty-three percent of people over the age of sixty-five are showing antibodies for this illness, while six to nine percent of people aged eighteen to sixty-four test positive for these antibodies, and zero percent of children younger than six have these antibodies previous to receiving the H1N1 vaccine.

If you are over the age of sixty-five, then you may be lucky enough to be one of the thirty-three percent of individuals who has antibodies to the H1N1 flu virus, but understand that simply being a senior does not protect you from the H1N1 influenza outbreak. In order to insure that you will be safe you do need to be immunized against this flu strain. To learn more about the H1N1 flu virus, discuss your questions and concerns with your local doctor, or health clinic.

Sources:

http://www.help4seniors.org/newspage.asp?ref=1024

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?artic lekey=106773

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/s wineflu/news/may2109serum-jw.html

Learn more about this author, Lorelei Cohen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.