The experiments with mice infected with the 1918 influenza virus are important but not surprising. John Barry’s The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History (2004, Viking) explains that many, perhaps most, of the victims were killed by the overreaction of their immune systems. This may be why most of the victims were young, with strong, young immune systems.
John Myers San Diego, Calif.
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