New Options for the Prevention of Influenza
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TL;DR
This work has shown that influenza pandemics can occur unpredictably as a result of the emergence of new subtypes of influenza A viruses harbored in birds.
Abstract
Influenza is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of global importance. It is also a model of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases,1 for two reasons. First, annual epidemics of influenza are caused by viruses that have evolved sufficiently to reinfect persons who were infected by related strains that circulated previously. Second, influenza pandemics can occur unpredictably as a result of the emergence of new subtypes of influenza A viruses harbored in birds.We are faced with the near certainty that another pandemic will occur sometime in the future. This prediction is based on observations from past centuries and our current . . .