An individual's year of birth could influence his/her risk of contracting certain strains of influenza in the future. According to the findings of a recent research, the first case of flu affects how receptive an individual's immune system becomes in the future should a flu pandemic arise.

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According to NBC News, the findings of the study have given researchers an insight into creating better flu vaccines. The study comprised of individuals living in Asia and the Middle East. The study also highlighted possible risks of contracting certain types of flu as well.

The study suggests that people born before 1968 have a better chance of withstanding certain strains of the flu. Furthermore, those born after 1968 were exposed to a certain strain as children affecting their immunity and those of generations to come, Live Science reported.

"In the past, we always assumed that when pandemic flu viruses emerge from animals, the human population is an immunological blank slate," said the lead study author of the study, Katelyn Gostic from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Researchers used to assume that immune systems would be defenseless against a widespread strain of the flu, Gostic said. However, the results suggest many individuals might be immune to a new flu strain from animals if they were exposed to a similar strain in their youth.

The study took into consideration details of more than a 1,000 individuals mostly in Asia and the Middle East. The details were gathered from groups who were infected with either two strains of bird flu H7N9 and the H5N1.

Scientists examined the characteristics of the two strains of the avian flu and assessed the risks of a possible flu pandemic. Researchers claim that the severity of such pandemic could threaten the lives of millions of individuals.

Scientists previously believed a person's age played a role in determining which virus an individual contracted during flu outbreaks. The H5N1 typically affected children and young adults while the H7N9 virus was found mainly in older adults.

The new study suggests that researchers found a dividing line between the two age groups as 1968. This was the year of the Hong Kong flu pandemic.

Learn more in the video below: