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Science 7 September 2001:
Vol. 293. no. 5536, pp. 1776 - 1777
DOI: 10.1126/science.1063817
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Perspectives

Also see the archival list of Science's Compass: Enhanced Perspectives

VIROLOGY:
Enhanced: The Origin and Control of Pandemic Influenza

Graeme Laver and Elspeth Garman

What would happen if a flu pandemic as devastating as the 1918 Spanish flu arrived tomorrow. As Laver explains in a Perspective, preparation of the appropriate subunit vaccine (which depends on accurate identification of the flu virus strain) would take too long. He suggests that stockpiling antiviral drugs such as Relenza and Tamiflu, which block the action of the flu neuraminidase enzyme preventing spread of the virus throughout the host's body, would be a good place to start.

The authors are at Australian National University, Canberra 2601, ACT, Australia, and Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK. E-mail: elspeth{at}biop.ox.ac.uk

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Existing antivirals are effective against influenza viruses with genes from the 1918 pandemic virus.
T. M. Tumpey, A. Garcia-Sastre, A. Mikulasova, J. K. Taubenberger, D. E. Swayne, P. Palese, and C. F. Basler (2002)
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Clinical Evaluation of the ZstatFlu-II Test: a Chemiluminescent Rapid Diagnostic Test for Influenza Virus.
M. S. Hamilton, D. M. Abel, Y. J. Ballam, M. K. Otto, A. F. Nickell, L. M. Pence, J. R. Appleman, C. D. Shimasaki, and K. E. Achyuthan (2002)
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The Genetics of Deadly Influenza Strains.
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Journal Watch Infectious Diseases 2001, 4
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New Thinking About Virulent Influenza.
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