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How likely are you to get ill? Check the clock. A study of circadian rhythms has revealed that mice are more susceptible to infections at certain times of day.

at the University of Cambridge and his team made this discovery by exposing mice to the herpes virus. They found that the virus replicated 10 times as much in mice that were infected at the end of their day, rather than at the beginning.

“The time of day of infection can have a major influence on how susceptible we are to disease,” says Reddy.

His team also tried the experiment in mice with disrupted body clocks, and found consistently high levels of virus activity in these mice, regardless of the time of infection – a result with worrying implications for people with disrupted bodyclocks.

“This indicates that shift workers, who work some nights and rest some nights, will be more susceptible to viral diseases,” says team-member Rachel Edgar. “If so, then they could be prime candidates for receiving annual flu vaccines.”

Shift workers are known to be more prone to health problems, ranging from infections to chronic diseases.

Read more: Predicting how the body clock can make medicines work better