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colds...flue...sneezing.. running nose...

2006-08-04 14:23:09 · 34 answers · asked by jack savage of manila 1 in Health Diseases & Conditions Respiratory Diseases

34 answers

Viruses are constantly evolving, making find a "cure" very difficult. Even the annual flu shots are just a best guess at which strains of flu might be prevalent that year. If you catch a different strain of flu, the shot offers no protection. This is why everyone is so scared about the possibility of an avian flu epidemic, which could happen if that virus evolves to the point where human-to-human transmission is possible. (Right now, the people who get it catch it from birds.) Because this would be a totally new strain of flu, no one would have any pre-existing immunity and it could easily become an epidemic.

2006-08-04 14:31:32 · answer #1 · answered by just♪wondering 7 · 0 0

the flu virus - like the cold virus - is constantly changing. It goes through mutations constantly, which is why you cannot build up a natural resistance to it. Once your body has been infected by a virus, your white blood cells are 'trained' to find and kill that virus before it can make you sick again...since the flu and cold visuses constantly mutate, every time you get it you are getting a different virus...and your body does not recognize it to fight it off. This is also why there's no "cure" for many viruses. HOWEVER...there are immunizations that can give you temporary artificial resistance to certain strains, as well as drugs such as Tamiflu (antiviral drugs) that when taken within the first 48 hours, shortens the duration of the flu/virus. These help to reduce the amount of virus in your system, thus helping your body to fight off the bug.

2006-08-04 14:29:54 · answer #2 · answered by kansas8099 4 · 0 0

Well, the obvious answer is that our great scientists (membership, which I assume, does not include you) have not been around for millions of years.

It has only been since people in theology decided that faith didn't do a very good job of healing that scientific medicine has developed. That finally got moving around 150 years ago. Medicine is still pretty primative.

More specifically the cold is caused by a RNA virus and not a DNA virus. RNA viruses, since they only have one strand of amino acids chained together can create mutations quite a bit faster. As mutations occur the virus eludes the immunizations developed for the previous cold seasons.

2006-08-04 14:30:49 · answer #3 · answered by Alan Turing 5 · 0 0

THERE IS A CURE FOR SOME OF THE FLUES .THERE IS NOT ONE FLUE THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLUES. BASICALLY THE FLUE VIRUS LIKE THE AVIAN FLUE VIRUS AND SOME OTHERS HAVE THE TENDENCY OF MUATATIONS AND THEY CAN CHANGE THERE STRAINS AND CAUSE DAMAGE TO HUMAN BODY.FOR SCIENTIST THE MAIN TENSION IS THIS ONLY THAT IF THESE VIRUSES CHANGE THEIR DNA'S AND COME ALONG LIKE A UNKNOWN THING WE CAN'T DEVELOP A VACCINE .LIKE IN THE AIDS VIRUS THE THING IS THAT IT CHANGES IT 2 AMINO ACIDS FROM IT'S ALL PROTIENS EVERY YEAR FOR WHICH IT BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE TO DETECT AND FIND VACCINE FOR THEM.THE MOMENT THESE FLU VIRUS DO THE CHANGE IN THEIR STRAINS WE ARE IN DANGER.THE AVIAN FLU VIRUS DEVELOPED FROM A VIRUS H1N1 WHICH CHANGED INTO H1N5.IF U WANT MORE DETAILS CONTACT ME.

2006-08-04 14:37:03 · answer #4 · answered by juhi 3 · 0 0

The flue virus, mutates so quickly, they dont have the time to study it, and come up with a vaccine. Hence, every year, new flew shots are made, after the season hits, then next near, its somthing different.

2006-08-04 14:27:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The flu, or the virus of the Influenza changes from year to year, so what killed it today, maybe can't do it the next season. It mutates gaining the ability to resist to the medicines that were harmful for them in the past. The vaccine is around 95% effective, but it will have to change for the next season. I hope you get the idea.

2006-08-04 14:29:18 · answer #6 · answered by barrabas 3 · 0 0

Because the flu is always changing and adapting. It is not the exact same strand every time, it is constantly changing. Finding a cure is like trying to hit a target moving at the speed of light.

2006-08-04 14:27:05 · answer #7 · answered by Christopher 4 · 0 0

as iwas taught in school on scientist while the say:''flue evolupe as part of family in (green family),i.e trees and its inhabbitant in this combine , inflonza and its family scaped ,and became a viruse and ithing you should do this ,when a weather gets very hot try to sleep in the midle of trees i mean lots of them ,then the next day compare you breathing sure is diff. out of there .attention/ never try it alone back then i did it with scotts out of town camping no sources its up to you.

2006-08-04 14:50:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

because its caused by a virus therefor a viral infection. Every cold/ flu virus takes on a different form, so there is no one drug that will take care of every case you contract. Flu shots, however, give you the same kind of virus ahead of time, so your body can build up cells that fight it off, thus rendering you immune to it. It's the only way to protect youself that i know of, and i'm no expert... and every time you get the flu, its different than the ones you've had before, cause you've alresdy built up an immunity to them! They say by the time your 40, you've built up an immunity to hundreds of types of colds/flus. maybe that's why adults seem to get sick less...

2006-08-04 14:31:40 · answer #9 · answered by peakfreak 3 · 0 0

every year new flue virus develope, scientist have a cure...for last years viruses

2006-08-04 14:26:10 · answer #10 · answered by naddel 4 · 0 0

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