KGBT 4 - TV Harlingen, TX: Will there be a new version of the flu late in the season?

Will there be a new version of the flu late in the season?

By Dr. Jeffrey Khan for Sniffle Solutions
 

Probably not. While it's impossible to predict how powerful a virus may become or if a new version will pop up, we have no reason to believe that either the seasonal flu virus or H1N1 will become more dangerous (or a new strain will appear) later in the cold and flu season.

A quick science lesson: The influenza virus mutates over time in order to outsmart your immune system and the current vaccine. While the chemical makeup of the virus changes quite a bit over the span of the flu season, it does not necessarily become any more dangerous than the initial strain.

By the time the virus has changed enough to render the current vaccine less effective, the flu season is already winding down. In addition, scientists develop a new vaccine every year, keeping the virus on the run -- and keeping you safe and healthy.

More good news: H1N1 is even less likely than the seasonal flu to mutate. When a virus is young (like H1N1), it spreads quickly but changes less. People have not developed the necessary antibodies to fight it off, so it doesn't need to change to survive.