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| Study finds H1N1 may be version of deadly 1918 flu POST-DISPATCH 06/16/2010The 2009 H1N1 flu virus seems to be a milder version of the deadly 1918 Spanish flu, according to preliminary research released Tuesday. In very small studies involving 30 mice, rodents that were exposed to the 1918 flu after receiving a 2009 H1N1 vaccine did not get sick or die from the older virus. Four out of five mice that received a 2007 flu vaccine also survived exposure to the 1918 virus, which is believed to have killed 50 million people worldwide. The federally funded research, led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and including scientists at St. Louis University, also showed that 15 people who received the 2009 H1N1 vaccine developed protective antibodies against the 1918 flu. The findings suggest that the two virus strains have similar features, and may help explain why people older than 60 were not as affected by the 2009 flu since they had leftover immunity from the 1918 virus and other swine flu strains from the 1950s.  Scientists said more research on other animals is needed to prove the connection. Dr. Sharon Frey, clinical director of SLU's Center for Vaccine Development and a co-author of the study, said the findings were encouraging in case the 1918 flu was to recirculate. "That was a very highly feared strain of influenza," she said. |
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