Ancient source of Influenza virus?

[tyto]

Gsgs, here's an idea. The Egyptians mummified all sorts of animals including ibises and ducks. Maybe the answer to your questions about the origins and lineage of influenza lies there. Also there's always the possibility of frozen birds trapped in ice in the Alps or squashed under a Mammoth in the Siberian Tundra.


I once has a chicken nugget from a fast food restaurant that I could swear was 300 years old. I couldn't find any influenza using the PCR primers I had but I did find a vein shaped like a question mark. Just kidding. Hehehe.

 

[gsgs]

Re: Ancient source of Influenza virus?

they even found several humans in permafrost and it was
so difficult to get flu RNA-fragments
they failed with the pre-1918 birds in paraffine

in hot Egypt flu won't survive long (without replicating)

 

[tyto]

Re: Ancient source of Influenza virus?

gsgs, that's interesting. I thought maybe the salts and resins used in mummification might by chance preserve the fragile virus. Oh well.

 

[gsgs]

Re: Ancient source of Influenza virus?

there was one attempt to get virus from someone
buried in a lead-coffin in England, but when they
opened the grave the lead was split
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sykes#Exhumation_for_biological_research

the result of the analysis of the samples is being kept secret (so far)