A new study in Europe shows that men can catch more cough and colds than women, at least as far as mice go. Researchers from the Queens Mary University of London experimented and studied the immune systems of male and female mice that were subjected to various types of infections.

The findings showed that female mice doubled the number of men’s white blood cell count. This basically means that they have more infection fighting blood components compared to men. The women’s cells are also more aware that infections and bacteria are invading the body and are better at attacking them.

“When we started to look at how these white blood cells behaved, we found that not only were there more cells, but that the cells were more responsive to bacteria and other invaders – and that they worked more effectively,” says the leader of the study scientist Dr. Ramona Scotland.
The study also shows that the female’s system won’t release a certain chemical that makes one feel sick and tired when the cells attacked the bacteria.

The researchers explained that these finding are important because they show the differences of men and women’s response to bacteria. Though the study was not conducted to real people, this discovery could possibly spur into possible medical innovations.

Flu is the most common disease brought by different causes like weather change, allergies, and viral or bacterial infections. And being the most common, flu is also the most contagious and can be easily passed from one person to another through contact and air.

Though this seems to be a minor disease, health sectors are giving more attention in stopping different types of influenzas. Flu can also be caused by rare animal viruses that might be more health threatening. Avian flu and swine flu are among the types of flu caused by rare animal viruses. These animal viruses have been pandemic and numerous people suffered.

A normal type of flu is not actually deadly. However this type of disease weakens the immune system making the body more susceptible to more serious diseases and it’s contagious. On the other hand, it was reported that swine flu or A H1N1 caused several deaths that scared the public. It was estimated that 12,470 people died from swine flu in 2009 to which more of them are men.