Letters from the November 25, 2006, issue of Science News
By Science News
Wasted youth
The experiments with mice infected with the 1918 influenza virus are important but not surprising (“The Bad Fight: Immune systems harmed 1918 flu patients,” SN: 9/30/06, p. 211). 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.