1918 Spanish Flu Mystery Solved

Scientists appear to have solved an enduring mystery surrounding the 1918 outbreak of Spanish flu which killed millions worldwide.

Estimates say the epidemic took 50 million lives, more than the First World War. Unlike most bird flu strains, it was lethal amongst young, healthy people.

Canadian lab reconstructed the Spanish flu virus from human tissues preserved in the Alaskan permafrost and infected macaque monkeys. Their findings were reported on Thursday in the journal Nature, and should give a better view of how the virus killed humans than earlier work with infected mice.
It turns out that the H1N1 Spanish flu virus (the current bird flu threat is from H5N1, the nomenclature derived from the proteins which coat the virus) killed 50 million by over-stimulating their immune system, causing the lungs to inflame and rapidly fill with liquid. Lead author Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin said: "Essentially people are drowned by themselves."
So a young, healthy person with a young, healthy immune system would be a ripe victim for the 1918 strain. Associated Press reports co-author Michael Katze, of the University of Washington, said: "It was the robustness of the immune system that helped victimize them."

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Only 10% of US citizens Qualify for Bird Flu Vaccine

90% of US citizens to be denied Bird Flu Vaccine
When a bird flu pandemic occurs, experts estimate there will be only enough vaccine to protect one in every 10 Americans.

Now, an essay in the May 12 issue of Science is heating up the debate on who that lucky 10 percent should be.

Countering the federal government's policy of placing the elderly near the top of the list, two medical ethicists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) say that after doling out the vaccine to essential health workers, people between 13 and 40 years of age should be next in line to receive the shot.

What we are arguing is that younger people have more of their life to lead, and they ought to get higher priority," explained Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the department of bioethics at The Clinical Center, which is part of the NIH.

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