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Century-old virus sample helps decode deadliest influenza pandemic in history

Researchers successfully decoded the genome of the 1918 influenza virus by utilizing an over 100-year-old formalin-fixed specimen from a patient in Zurich, who died during the pandemic’s first wave ... read more

Gene-Swaps Could Let Influenza Jump Species

Influenza viruses like bird flu can mix and match their genomes, and this has played a role in at least three of the last four flu pandemics ... read more

How Influenza Reassortment May Make Bird Flu More Dangerous

Influenza viruses are shifty entities. A seemingly ingenious and sneaky way for viruses to make these leaps is by swapping genetic material with other flu strains. Called reassortment, this exchange ... read more

Genetic secrets of Spanish flu revealed through century-old sample

Researchers from the universities of Basel and Zurich have used a historical specimen from UZH's Medical Collection to decode the genome of the virus responsible for the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic ... read more

3 years in, flu vaccine R&D project reports substantial progress

In just 3 years, the Influenza Vaccines Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap Initiative has demonstrated important advancements in vaccine R&D, accomplishing 14% of its high-priority research goals ... read more

What Would It Take for Bird Flu to Spread among Humans?

The H5N1 avian flu is circulating in cows and other mammals. Whether it will make a permanent leap to humans is another question ... read more

How prepared are we if bird flu sparks the next pandemic?

Scientists always knew a deadly virus was going to jump from animals to humans: COVID was not the first time it has happened, and it won’t be the last ... read more

What Happened to All the Human Bird Flu Cases?

From the outset of the Trump administration, bird flu, or H5N1 avian influenza, has flown rather conspicuously — and in fact quite mysteriously — under the radar. So much so that this week ... read more

Child hospitalised abroad as bird flu cases climb

Cambodia’s Ministry of Health recently confirmed the country’s twelfth human case of H5N1 avian influenza so far this year ... read more

What long COVID can teach us about future pandemics

Covid has caused serious amounts of chronic illness. Research advances may help not only people facing chronic illnesses today but postinfection syndromes of the future. read more

Child hospitalised as bird flu cases climb in Cambodia

Cambodia’s Ministry of Health recently confirmed the country’s twelfth human case of H5N1 avian influenza so far this year. The patient, a five-year-old boy from Kampot province, is currently in ... read more