Spanish Flu: A Deadlier Version of the Bird Flu?

According to the latest research, the bird flu may share the same common origins as its far deadlier predecessor, the Spanish flu.
The Spanish flu virus that killed up to 50 million people in 1918-19 was probably a strain that originated in birds.

In some of the most chilling comparisons, the link between the current bird flu pandemic and the recent SARS scare may indicate that a major outbreak of the flu virus may just be round the corner.

Resurrecting the Spanish Flu

By 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.
Due to the unfamiliar nature of the virus, many people did not have the immune systems to deal with the disease, which explained the high fatality rates.

The Spanish flu strain has striking similarities to those found in the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, which has so far killed 65 people.

Unlike the Spanish virus, however, the H5N1 strain is not airborne, hence limiting its contagious elements.

However, there are fears that the current bird flu strain may combine with existing human strains to acquire an airborne ability, and that stark possibility is one reason why scientists are attempting to understand more about the disease.

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. This strain has so far killed at least 65 people.

Many experts believe it is only a matter of time before H5N1, or a similar strain, causes many deaths in humans - possibly after combining with a human flu strain.

Crucially, the mutations identified by the US researchers were found in genes which control the virus' ability to replicate in host cells.

Warning on the Virus

Professor John Oxford, an expert in virology at Queen Mary College, London, said the suggestion that the virus had the potential to jump between humans without first combining with a human virus made it even more of a threat.
"This study gives us an extra warning that H5N1 needs to be taken even more seriously than it has been up to now," he said.

There has also been concerns raised about resurrecting the Spanish flu, for fears that the virus might be accidentally linked and expose human beings to unnecessary danger.
Dr Terrence Tumpey, of the US CDC, defended the decision to recreate the 1918 flu virus.

He said: "We felt we had to recreate the virus and run these experiments to understand the biological properties that made the 1918 virus so exceptionally deadly.

"We wanted to identify the specific genes responsible for its virulence, with the hope of designing antivirals or other interventions that would work against virulent pandemic or epidemic influenza viruses."

The need for the scientific community to study the influenza is paramount; failure to come up with any form of prevention and other emergency procedures will render vast human populations sitting ducks for any flu pandemics that may come our way.