RESEARCH - US study shows why winter is flu season

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U.S. study shows why winter is " flu season "

Sun Mar 2, 2008 1:47pm EST

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Influenza viruses coat themselves in fatty

material that hardens and protects them in colder temperatures -- a

finding that could explain why winter is the flu season, U.S.

researchers reported on Sunday.

This butter-like coating melts in the respiratory tract, allowing the

virus to infect cells, the team at the National Institutes of Health

found.

" Like an M & M in your mouth, the protective covering melts when it

enters the respiratory tract, " said Zimmerberg of the National

Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), who led the

study.

The NICHD is one of the National Institutes of Health.

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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN0228175320080302

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Not an MD