Don’t blame birds for 1918 flu. It has become almost common wisdom that the virus that caused the 1918 flu pandemic was an avian strain. But a new study disputes that hypothesis--arguing instead that genes of the 1918 virus had circulated in mammalian hosts, most likely pigs and humans, for several years before 1918. [News Source]

Pandemic flu viruses brew for years before going global. Family trees for pandemic influenza have revealed that components of deadly flu viruses probably lurk in humans and other animals for years before they emerge as a worldwide threat to human health. [News Source]

Swine flu: health experts ’surprised’ by spread of virus in the UK. One of the world's most respected influenza scientists said today that health officials had been surprised by the spread of swine flu. [News Source]