College students who drink heavily could be more likely to catch the flu this fall.

Although young adults are not considered to be the most susceptible to the H1N1 influenza virus (previously called “swine flu”) they still need to take precautions – especially if they binge drink. A recent article in Medical News Today reported that binge drinking can weaken the body’s ability to fight infections for at least 24 hours. Since binge drinking among American college students is increasing, this is particularly concerning for those who live on college campuses and drink heavily.

The generally accepted definition of binge drinking in the United States is the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men — or four or more drinks in a row by women — at least once in the previous two weeks. Heavy binge drinking includes three or more such episodes in two weeks.

Excessive drinking can lead to difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, mood changes – as well as impaired judgment, alcohol poisoning – and now possibly, the flu.

A recent study published in the journal BMC Immunology stated that researchers who conducted experiments with mice discovered that binge-drinking affects toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a protein that plays an important role in immune system activation.

Heavy drinking suppresses TLR4’s ability to send signals that activate production of inflammatory cytokines, which begin the inflammatory response to infection. This means that the body’s response to infection is weakened, so the ability to fight off infection is impaired.

The 2009 H1N1 virus may cause the flu season to be worse than a regular flu season, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Influenza activity was on the rise each week this past September and is expected to increase throughout the fall.