Scientists have succeed in replicating flu pandemic antibodies from 90 year old survivors By Stuart Fox Posted 08.18.2008 at 6:04 pm 3 Comments The H5N1 Virus: Photo by Quiplash! (CC Licensed) Ninety years ago the Spanish flu swept across the globe, killing between 50 and 100 million people in only a few months. Since then, the specter of another flu pandemic dealing death and woe... Read Full Story
Ninety years after the sweeping destruction of the 1918 flu pandemic, researchers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt have recovered antibodies to the virus ??? from elderly survivors of the original outbreak. In addition to revealing the surprisingly long-lasting immunity to such viruses, these antibodies could be effective treatments to have on hand if another virus similar to the 1918 flu breaks out in the future.In February, in a separate study, MIT researchers... Read Full Story
Pandemic Potential Of H9N2 Avian Influenza Viruses (August 14, 2008) -- Since their introduction into land-based birds in 1988, H9N2 avian influenza A viruses have caused multiple human infections and become endemic in domestic poultry in Eurasia. This particular influenza subtype has been evolving and acquiring characteristics that raise concerns that it may become more transmissible among humans. Mechanisms that allow infection and subsequent human-to-human transmission of avian influenza... Read Full Story
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today an online storybook containing narratives from survivors, families, and friends about one of the largest scourges ever on human kind – the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions of people around the world. The storybook provides valuable insight for public health officials preparing for the possibility of another pandemic sometime in our future. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The... Read Full Story
Washington, Aug 20 (IANS) Bacterial pneumonia, not flu virus alone, accounted for the bulk of deaths during the 1918 pandemic, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Bacteria normally inhabiting the nose and throat caused the pneumonia by invading the lungs, along a pathway created by the flu virus that destroyed cells lining bronchial tubes and lungs.
A future flu pandemic may unfold in a similar manner, concluded the authors of the... Read Full Story
