Reproducing the H1N1 virus to find out H5N1

Scientists at the University of Washington (USA) have recreated the strain of H1N1 influenza virus (also called Spanish flu) to study the mechanism of infection of this virus.

H1N1 is a virus that once killed more than 50 million people in the global influenza pandemic in the late World War I (1918-1919).

Usually when infected with the flu, the body's immune system destroys infected cells. However, experiments in mice have shown that the immune system overreacts to the H1N1 virus that this self-defense mechanism kills too many body cells, whereas it cannot prevent development. of influenza virus. It is this reaction of the body that makes the devastation of H1N1 stronger.

The next step, the team will continue similar experiments to find out why the immune system has such a reaction. Scientists claim that through the H1N1 study, they can better understand the mechanism of action of the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Police in Seattle (USA) wear masks in the 1918 flu pandemic
(Photo: Reuters)

HIEU TRUNG