Groundbreaking research using the virus that caused the worst influenza epidemic in history, the Spanish flu of 1918, has provided some intriguing clues about how the flu jumps from birds to humans and how a bird virus can catch the human immune system off-guard, with devastating consequences.
British and U.S. researchers found that the more birdlike the virus, the more dangerous it is. But, for a particular strain of the flu to be a big killer, there also need to be subtle alterations that allow it to bind more efficiently to human cells.
Source: http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040205.wflu0206/BNStory/Front/
[Editor: The preceding article was not written by A4M/WHN]
