Sophisticated mathematical tools suggest that the immune system has a blind spot when it comes to subtle mutations of the influenza virus
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When it comes to infectious diseases, children get a tough deal. Not only do they spend all day in a school-shaped mixing pot of viruses and bacteria, they do not yet have the repertoire of immune defenses their parents have spent a lifetime building—which means that for most infections, from chickenpox to measles, it pays to be an adult.
Influenza is a different story, however. Studies of the 2009 flu pandemic have shown that immunity against regular seasonal flu viruses tends to peak in young children, drop in middle-aged people and then rise again in the elderly. Adults might have had more exposure to the disease in the course of their lives, but—aside from the eldest group—they somehow end up with a much weaker immune response.
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