Researchers have discovered human antibodies that neutralize not only H5N1 bird flu but other strains of influenza as well and say they hope to develop them into lifesaving treatments, according to Reuters. The antibodies -- immune system proteins that attach to invaders such as viruses -- also might be used to protect front-line workers and others at high risk in case a pandemic of flu broke out, the researchers said. In tests on mice the viruses neutralized several types of influenza A viruses, including the H5N1 avian influenza virus, the researchers reported in Sunday's issue of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. "We were surprised and actually delighted to find that these antibodies neutralized a majority of other influenza viruses, including the regular seasonal (H1N1 strain of) flu," Robert Liddington of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
