Children May Be More Likely To Get Bird Flu

scientists are working to understand the H5N1 virus better

New research coming from the Adelaide Women and Children's Hospital in Australia and the University of Hong Kong says that children are at more risk of getting the bird flu virus than adults. This research is important because it could help in finding a new way of beating the H5N1 virus.

The way that these scientists approached their research was by analysing areas of the body which function as beacons for the bird flu virus that are located in the lower and upper respiratory tracts and the lungs.  What they found was that the lectin MMA which is responsible for binding sugars and identifying the receptors of bird flu viruses was functioning well throughout all the respiratory tracts, however it was especially good at binding on to the cells in children’s lower respiratory tracts.

The scientists who published the research in the medical journal Respiratory Research said that the results clearly explained why children tend to get the bird flu virus more easily than adults. They went on to say that any further understanding of how the bird flu virus works in humans can be used to create medicines and vaccines.

All over the world hundreds of researchers and scientists are working to understand the H5N1 virus better. A pharmaceutical company that comes up with a vaccine to protect against this virus would not only be hailed as a saviour of the world but also would be on to a financial blockbuster.

It has been thought that the reason why children tended to get the bird flu virus more often than adults was because in the third world countries where the cases tended to be located children often played with the chickens and other poultry in farm yards, thus making them more susceptible to picking up an infection from a sick bird.