25 March 2012 Last updated at 13:39 ET

Scientists have identified a genetic flaw that may explain why some people get more ill with flu than others.

Writing in Nature, the researchers said the variant of the IFITM3 gene was much more common in people hospitalised for flu than in the general population.

It controls a malformed protein, which makes cells more susceptible to viral infection.

Experts said those with the flaw could be given the flu jab, like other at-risk groups.

Researchers removed the gene from mice. They found that when they developed flu, their symptoms were much worse than those seen in mice with the gene.

Evidence from genetic databases covering thousands of people showed the flawed version of the gene is present in around one in 400 people.

The scientists, who came from the UK and US, then sequenced the IFITM3 genes of 53 patients who were in hospital with flu.

Three were found to have the variant - a rate of one in 20.

The researchers say these findings now need to be replicated in bigger studies. And they add it is probably only part of the genetic jigsaw that determines a person's response to flu.

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'Severe flu' gene flaw identified

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