Flu and you

Worldwide, flu kills 500 thousand people a year and infects around 500 million more.

The common perception of flu is that you just take a few days off work in bed. In reality, world-wide flu kills 500 thousand people a year and infects around 500 million more. Seventy five years after the virus was first identified, in an age where we have all but eradicated diseases like measles in the UK, how can this be? And what can we do about it? With frequent media coverage of 'bird flu' outbreaks, is a global flu pandemic on the scale of that seen in 1918 something we should be really worried about?

In exploring these questions Chris delves into the nature of flu itself, examines what happens when you're infected, and describes how your body fights back. He discusses how flu vaccines and anti-influenza drugs work, and the ways in which current research is aiming to bring one of the most infectious disease-causing agents on the planet under control. Finally, he will outline how his own research and that of his colleagues around the world fits together to develop our understanding of viral evolution - the process that ensures influenza remains a serious global health concern in the twenty-first century.

Through this talk Chris will also provide an insight into the path he has taken from his early days at school to becoming a young research scientist.

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