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October 5, 2005
87-year-old virus lives again
A second paper in Science reveals another US team has successfully recreated the 1918 virus in mice.
The virus is contained at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under stringent safety conditions.
It is hoped to carry out experiments to further understand the biological properties that made the virus so virulent.
The virus was recreated from data produced by painstaking research by a team from the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Working on virus samples from the remains of victims of the 1918 pandemic, the researchers were able to piece together the entire genetic sequence of the virus.
They found the virus contained elements that were new to humans of the time - making it highly virulent.
And analysis of the final three pieces of the virus' genetic code has revealed mutations that have striking similarities to those found in flu viruses found only in birds, such as the H5N1 strain currently found in south east Asia.
BBC NEWS | Health | 1918 killer flu 'came from birds'
Posted by thdyck on October 5, 2005
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