Three quarters of people with flu have no symptoms. Dr Ben Neuman comments on the new study in the Lancet
Release Date 17 March 2014
Dr Ben Neuman, virologist at the University of Reading, said:
"There is good and bad news here. The bad news is that far more people than we knew about catch the flu each year. The good news is that most people who are infected don't feel sick. This suggests that a case of the flu may be a little less dangerous to the average person than suspected. However flu spreads easily and can make people very sick and so following flu prevention advice is very important.
"This study also goes to show how amazing our immune systems are. The air around us is filled with germs, and our bodies fight a never-ending battle to keep them at bay. Evolution has given us the most sophisticated antimicrobial weaponry in the world, and the marvel of it all is that it usually does the job so well that we never even notice."