1918 killer flu 'came from birds'
SOURCE: BBC (12-22-06)
The Spanish flu virus that killed up to 50 million people in 1918-19 was probably a strain that originated in birds, research has shown.
US scientists have found the 1918 virus shares genetic mutations with the bird flu virus now circulating in Asia.
Writing in Nature, they say their work underlines the threat the current strain poses to humans worldwide.
A second paper in Science reveals another US team has successfully recreated the 1918 virus in mice.
US scientists have found the 1918 virus shares genetic mutations with the bird flu virus now circulating in Asia.
Writing in Nature, they say their work underlines the threat the current strain poses to humans worldwide.
A second paper in Science reveals another US team has successfully recreated the 1918 virus in mice.
Source:
BBC
Source URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4308872.stm
Date:
12-22-06
1918 Killer Flu
Sounds like the plot of a bad 1950s science fiction movie. "Honest, we only thought the mice would get it."