An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING YOUR FLU SHOT, ACCORDING TO DOCTORSResearchers say these "fundamental insights" into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications."The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections," principal investigator Dr.Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells.
(iStock)While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common.However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a "dire" need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell."You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell," he noted.
"You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells."HOW LONG YOU’RE CONTAGIOUS WITH THE FLU — AND WHEN IT’S SAFE TO GO OUTThe study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus.(i...