The Origins of Pandemic Influenza — Lessons from the 1918 Virus

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Abstract
The completion of the genetic sequencing of the 1918 influenza A virus by Taubenberger et al.1 and the subsequent recovery of the virus by Tumpey et al.2 using reverse genetic techniques are spectacular achievements of contemporary molecular biology and provide important insights into the origin of pandemic influenza. The three pandemic viruses that emerged in the 20th century — the 1918 (“Spanish influenza”) H1N1 virus, the 1957 (“Asian influenza”) H2N2 virus, and the 1968 (“Hong Kong influenza”) H3N2 virus — all spread rapidly around the world, but only the 1918 virus was associated with mortality measured in the thousands per 100,000 population.