How the 1918 Flu Worked

Researchers at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg recreated the flu virus that caused the 1918 flu epidemic -- the worst in recorded history. They followed work done in the United States in 2005. They then tested the virus in macaque monkeys, comparing it with a less lethal modern flu virus. It had been previously determined that the virus would infect monkeys. While the control group of monkeys got only a mild disease, the animals exposed to the 1918 strain grew ill and keep getting worse; within days their lungs filled with fluid and blood and they were labouring to breathe. "The monkeys grew so ill, so fast, they were all euthanized by day eight of the experiments." Apparently the virus caused the monkey's immune systems to pump out large amounts of cytokines. "The virus did not stimulate a lot of interferon production, which is normally one of the body's first lines of defence. 'It looks like it was very stealthily moving through and not turning on certain switches.'" According to the article by Margaret Munro, (CanWest News Service via Canada.com): "The scientists are now trying to tease out exactly what happens at molecular and genetic level." The results of the research were published in Nature.

While scientifically interesting, the research may also be part of the process of developing public health defenses against a new pandemic of a flu variety like that of the 1918 pandemic. JAD