Forum :
I Have a Question About Swine Flu
Topic :
Can a person acquire Swine Flu two times?
We can thank our amazing immune system for our ability to avoid getting the same Swine Flu more than once.
If you catch a strain of Swine Flu influenza you get sick. While you are sick your body makes immunities. After your body kills all the influenza virus you become immune to "That Particular" strain.
It is during the time period when we are sick that our body is matching and making the attack cells to "kill" the invader. Our body "remembers" the pattern each time it makes cells that work to kill germs, so any time that same germ comes along again, or even sometimes a similar one, our immune system wastes no time in getting rid of the invading organism because it knows already what will work. That is why once we have had a flu virus like Swine Flu before, we won't get sick from it again. Our body will already know what cells to make and will send them out to destroy the invader even before it can make us feel sick.
But please note that because flu and cold viruses mutate readily, it is possible to catch different forms of swine flu after you have had one before that is not the same exact strain. If you contract a mutated strain, after already having had swine flu, your body may be able to fight it off easier through 'cross protection', i.e., already having dealt with a similar virus. But even if your body can recognize it as very similar, and make the same cells as before, if the pattern of cells that your body remembers and sends to the defense does not fit the new strain of the swine flu well enough to destroy it, you may feel sick until the body figures out the perfect new pattern. |
