Why some people don't get the flu

After exposure, some have a 'behind the scenes' immune response — saving them from being bed-ridden for days

By Kimberly Hayes Taylor
msnbc.com contributor
updated 8/30/2011 12:14:54 PM ET

To answer that question, University of Michigan researchers did the first study of its kind: They infected 17 healthy people with the flu virus and discovered that everyone who is exposed to the flu actually is affected by it, but their bodies just have a different way of reacting to it. Half of the study participants got sick; the other half didn’t notice a thing.

“Many people might conclude that if you are exposed to a virus and you don’t get sick, it’s because the virus didn’t stick or it was so weak, it just passed right through your system and your system didn’t notice. That’s not a correct notion,â€