Unexpected Rewards from Reconstructing the 1918 Influenza Virus

Abstract

The “Spanish” influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 stands as the deadliest single event in recorded human history, killing approximately 50 million people. The cause of the 1918 pandemic and the determinants of its severity remained one of the most discussed medical mysteries throughout most of the 20th century. PCR technology, however, made it possible to recover fragments of viral RNA from preserved tissues and, through “reverse genetics,” to reconstruct the 1918 virus. Remarkably, viral RNA fragments from a few victims are yielding novel insights into influenza virus biology and provide important information about how to control such pandemics.