Bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms continue evolve and develop new strains resistant to drugs and scientists fear that in the future, the influenza A virus might evolve and cause a global pandemic. So in anticipation of such an event, researchers from the UK, Australia, and the US have now been able to map the influenza A virus genome.
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By mapping its genetic structure, the researchers observed how its eight single-stranded RNA segments lock together. This is important because they are part of the means by which new viruses are formed.
They note that viruses behind past pandemics have been created by reassortment, in which a virus that infects one species, such as a bird, swaps genes with a virus that infects individuals from another species, such as humans.
This research may not necessarily be used to determine when such a pandemic would occur however, the data can help speed up the development of a vaccine.
(Image credit: Dr. Erskine Palmer/CDC)
Source: neatorama