Sean C. -- The human body has two polarized ways to fight of infection. The first is to cause inflammation throughout the body, the second is to release a anti-inflammatory. A study was done on 19 volunteers who were infected with a strain of the flu, 9 of them reported feeling unwell. Study of gene patterns show that the 9 who were feeling unwell had chemicals in their blood stream causing increased stress levels as well as inflammatory responses, the other subjects had anti-inflammatory responses as well as not getting as stressed. Analyzation of this data can help us detect who is in more danger of getting extremely sick. The people who stayed well spread less viruses. these patterns are not concrete evidence, there are many other factors that could have effected the results but it is a start.
This is interesting news. In case of a pandemic we could not only quarantine more effectively but also administer aid on a risk based order. There are flaws in both of these though; in the article it said that this data was not conclusive, after all correlation does not imply causation. We could possible give drugs that would replicate the effects or the anti-inflammatory response, letting people feel well whilst still fighting infections just as effectively.
This is interesting news. In case of a pandemic we could not only quarantine more effectively but also administer aid on a risk based order. There are flaws in both of these though; in the article it said that this data was not conclusive, after all correlation does not imply causation. We could possible give drugs that would replicate the effects or the anti-inflammatory response, letting people feel well whilst still fighting infections just as effectively.
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