WWW.NATURE.COM/NATURE
This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.445 NO.7125 DATED 18 JANUARY 2007
Editorial contacts: While the best contacts for stories will always be the authors themselves, in some cases the Nature editor who handled the paper will be available for comment if an author is unobtainable. Editors are contactable via Ruth Francis on +44 20 7843 4562. Feel free to get in touch with Nature's press contacts in London, Washington and Tokyo (as listed at the end of this release) with any general editorial inquiry.
Warning: This document, and the Nature papers to which it refers, may contain information that is price sensitive (as legally defined, for example, in the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 Part V) with respect to publicly quoted companies. Anyone dealing in securities using information contained in this document or in advanced copies of Nature’s content may be guilty of insider trading under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Nature journals press site is at <http://press.nature.com>
HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, citing the specific example.
PLEASE CITE NATURE AND OUR WEBSITE www.nature.com/nature AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO http://www.nature.com/nature
Immunology: 1918 flu virus lethal to primates
The influenza virus that killed about 50 million people worldwide around 90 years ago is also lethal in nonhuman primates, a study in this week's Nature reports. The results confirm that it was the virulence, associated with the virus itself, that made it so efficient in claiming young adult lives.
The 1918 influenza virus replicates rapidly in macaques, causing respiratory problems, haemorrhage and death, report Yoshihiro Kawaoka and colleagues. It does this, they say, by sending the host's immune system into overdrive.
Circulating strains of the bird flu virus H5N1 also appear to affect innate immune responses and cause respiratory problems. So it seems that interventions that protect host immunity might help curb the severity of influenza infections.
CONTACT
Yoshihiro Kawaoka (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA)
Tel: +1 608 265 4925; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
A telephone briefing related to the paper will take place UNDER STRICT EMBARGO on:
Tuesday 16 January at 1500 London time (GMT) / 1000 US Eastern time
For reporters calling from the United Kingdom: 020 3003 2666
For reporters calling from outside the United Kingdom: +44 20 3003 2666
Conference password: Nature Press Briefing
Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Michael Katze and Darwyn Kobasa will speak about their research followed by questions from media.
For more information please contact: Ruth Francis, Nature London
Tel: +44 207 843 4562; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
PRESS CONTACTS…
For North America and Canada
Katie McGoldrick, Nature Washington
Tel: +1 202 737 2355; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
For Japan, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan
Mika Nakano, Nature Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
For the UK/Europe/other countries not listed above
Helen Jamison, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
About Nature Publishing Group
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, dedicated to serving the academic, professional scientific and medical communities. NPG's flagship title, Nature, was first published in 1869. Other publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature Clinical Practice and a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. NPG also provides news content through [email protected] and scientific career information through Naturejobs.
NPG is a global company with headquarters in London and offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Munich, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Delhi, Mexico City and Basingstoke. For more information, please go to <www.nature.com>
