Home

  • Home
    • » e-Newsletters

Survivors of 1918 flu pandemic still carry protection

Infection Control Monitor, August 22, 2008

It’s been 90 years since the most devastating pandemic in human history—the 1918 Spanish Influenza.

However, survivors’ bloodstreams still carry super-potent protection against the most lethal flu virus, demonstrating the durability of the human immune system, reported the Associated Press (AP).  

Scientists tested the blood of 32 people, aged 92 to 102, who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies still ready to tackle the old viral strain. Researchers created a vaccine from those antibodies that was able to keep mice injected with the flu virus alive, according to a study published online in the journal Nature on August 17.

The lead author of the study told the AP he hopes to use the research to boost the potencies of vaccines that would be more useful now against newer bird flu strains that could become epidemics. Click here to read more.

Most Popular