Bringing the deadly Spanish Flu to the 21st century can prevent pandemics. (Centers for Disease Control, Wikimedia Commons)

Using reverse genetics, an international team of scientists re-formed the Spanish Influenza virus from eight genes found in avian flu viruses. According to the study published in the scientific journal Cell Host and Microbe, the synthetic virus is 97 percent identical to the original from 1918.  

Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka, one of the lead researchers, stated that the objective of of the study was to “assess the risk of avian viruses currently circulating in nature,” which contain genes closely related to the 1918 virus and “evaluate [their] pandemic potential” should a Spanish Flu-like virus emerge. The team infected laboratory ferrets to analyze the virus’s ease of transmission. 

Though critics claim that any potential benefit of the study do not outweigh the risks of potential exposure, Kawaoka believes that such studies enable the public to be more vigilant and prepared for possible flu pandemics.

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