Flu Comparison 1918 and 2009

Studies find remarkable similarities between pandemic flu viruses of 1918, 2009.
The Los Angeles Times (3/24, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported that the elderly are among those who are vulnerable to "flu viruses, so it was something of a shock to find that they were largely spared in the recent waves of pandemic H1N1 influenza." Some in the scientific community "speculated that their apparent resistance to the virus may have arisen because they were exposed to a similar virus in the past and developed some antibodies that protected them." Two new studies have now validated that theory.
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Scripps Research Institute found extraordinary similarities between the virus that swept the globe in 1918 and the recent H1N1 strain, according to Reuters (3/25, Fox).
Commenting on the research, AFP (3/25) quotes Anthony Fauci, MD, NIAID's director, as saying, "It gives us a new understanding of how pandemic viruses evolve into seasonal strains, and, importantly, provides direction for developing vaccines to slow or prevent that transformation," he added.