A Mexican study reports that the 2008-2009 vaccine against the seasonal flu may be quite effective against the H1N1 virus, especially the most serious types.
Published in the British Medical Journal, the study compared 60 people who had the disease and 180 people who had other health problems. In the uninfected group, the majority of them had received the seasonal flu vaccine. In addition, there was less deaths in this group.
However, the researchers caution that the results are preliminary and the vaccine will not replace the special vaccine for the H1N1 virus.
The sample of people studied were limited, as they were all patients in a hospital specializing in respiratory diseases. The results should be analyzed with caution.