Can I get 2009 H1N1 more than once?
Getting infected with any flu virus, including 2009 H1N1, should cause your body to develop immune resistance to that virus so it's not likely that a person would be infected with the identical influenza virus more than once. (However, people with weakened immune systems might not develop full immunity after infection and might be more likely to get infected with the same influenza virus more than once.) However, it's also possible that a person could have a positive test result for flu infection more than once in an influenza season. This can occur for two reasons:
- A person may be infected with different influenza viruses (for example, the first time with 2009 H1N1 and the second time with a regular seasonal flu virus. Most rapid tests cannot distinguish which influenza virus is responsible for the illness. and,
- Influenza tests can occasionally give false positive and false negative results so it's possible that one of the test results were incorrect. This is more likely to happen when the diagnosis is made with the rapid flu tests.
More information about flu diagnosis is available at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/diagnosis/.
Last Reviewed: 11/06/2009
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