After successfully recreating the Spanish flu virus responsible for the 1918 pandemic, American scientists reached a shocking conclusion: the 1918 virus also belongs to the avian influenza family, which claimed approximately 50 million lives worldwide. However, H5N1 is significantly more lethal.
The results of the resurrection of the “death virus” from 1918 were recently published in the prestigious scientific journals Science and Nature. This new achievement holds significant implications as researchers continue to uncover the secrets of the 1918 pandemic: why the killer spread so rapidly across the globe, why patients died within just 1-2 days of showing symptoms, and what factors contributed to its devastating power.
In 1998, a group of scientists from various countries embarked on a special project that involved excavating the remains of those killed by the 1918 Spanish flu and recreating the genetic material of the virus. It took a considerable amount of time to prepare for excavating graveyards on Spitsbergen Island and a village in Alaska that seemed to have vanished due to the virus’s onslaught. Additionally, they had access to a collection of medical records of American soldiers who perished during that time.
The research team, led by experts Ann Reid and Jeffrey Taubenberger from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, took the risk of applying genetic techniques to recreate the virus after successfully identifying 8 genes of the destroyer. The work was conducted in a specially designed laboratory that ensured absolute safety.
The results were truly surprising: the 1918 virus belongs to the H1N1 subtype and is a product of a genetic mutation from avian influenza. The mutations that the 1918 virus underwent allowed it to adapt to the human body (unlike the pathogens responsible for outbreaks in Asia in 1957 and Hong Kong in 1968, which were hybrids of human and avian influenza viruses).
The research team compared the resurrected 1918 virus with the current strains of the same virus type and the virulent H5N1 strain, which is currently causing concern over the potential for a new pandemic. The findings revealed that the 1918 virus contains an optimal set of genes that allows it to replicate rapidly in lung tissue. According to Dr. Anna Sominina from the St. Petersburg Flu Center in Russia, this is why infected individuals succumbed to lung-related ailments such as edema, hemorrhage, and bronchopneumonia. However, the 1918 virus is not as lethal as the current H5N1 strain, which can attack multiple organs beyond the lungs. Moreover, it is resistant to many common antiviral medications available worldwide. The mortality rate of the 1918 virus was about 1%, whereas H5N1’s varies from 50% to 100% in different countries.
Notably, the predecessor of the 1918 virus became lethal after undergoing 10 critical genetic mutations, allowing it to easily adapt to the human body. Today, scientists have identified 5 key mutations of the H5N1 virus.
Experts believe that the success of the American research team is extremely important, enabling humanity to better prepare for an impending catastrophic pandemic and paving the way for the development of vaccines and rapid detection systems for new viruses.
While everything is still not at the finish line concerning the virus’s mutations and human efforts in drug and vaccine development, scientists urge the public to pay more attention to their health, engage in physical exercise, walk frequently, supplement with vitamins, dress appropriately for the weather, and get vaccinated against influenza. It is especially important to avoid workplaces and schools once an initial respiratory infection is detected.
Mỹ Linh (according to Pravda)
