A field study carried out in China has revealed that adults get real flu once every five years.A team of scientists suggest that although people get flu-like symptoms more often, they are normally down to other infections, and the real flu doesn’t occur that often.The international team tested blood samples from 151 volunteers aged between seven and 81, to gauge how often flu infections strike, and a similar study will soon be carried out in the UK to see if the results apply to British people.It looked at nine main strains of flu known to have been present around the globe between 1968 and 2009. They then checked the patient’s antibodies to see if they have been infected with the viruses, and how often.They found that children got flu every other year, but it became less frequent as they aged.After the age of 30 the study suggests that adults are infected about twice every decade – however it’s hard to apply the findings to other populations until further tests are carried out.Dr Steven Riley, senior author of the study, said: “The exact frequency of infection will vary depending on background levels of flu and vaccination.” Source – 3news