Fairbanks, AK - Indigenous populations in Alaska and Australia are more vulnerable in the fight against flu. That’s according to a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists are using their finding to look for to help native populations fight flu in the future.
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, first made note of the flu sometime around the year 400 BC.
“So, we know that Europeans have been exposed to the virus for centuries," says Katherine Kedzierska. She's an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne in Australia. She says populations of European descent have developed more immunity to various strains of influenza over centuries, because they haven’t been nearly as isolated as Alaska Natives and the indigenous populations in Australia. She says special cells in the human blood stream, known commonly as T-cells, help humans develop immunity. “They recognize common features of different influenza strains. If a person has been exposed to a virus previously, it can have immunity against different and distinct strains and subtypes.” she says.
So, if some populations are never exposed to influenza, they may not develop the kinds of t-cells required to fight of various strains of the virus. Kedzierska says that’s exactly what happened in 1918.
“We had an outbreak of the catastrophic Spanish influenza. It is documented and there was a high morbidity within some isolated Alaskan villages as well as the indigenous Australian population.”
Last year, a new strain of influenza, known as H7N9, emerged in China. It originated in birds, but spread to more than 140 individuals and had a high rate of mortality. Kedzierska says it’s not the first time a new strain of influenza has come out and it’s unlikely to be the last. That’s why she and colleagues plan to use their findings to further research for vaccinations. “At the moment, what we are trying to research is whether we can develop a novel vaccine maybe tailored to the indigenous populations that would boost the universal t-cell immunity in those populations.”
But Kedzierska says a vaccine specific to Alaska Natives an Australia’s indigenous population is still years away.