Survivors from 1918 influenza may hold key to current vaccine

WASHINGTON Researchers have found that survivors of the 1918 influenza pandemic still have antibodies providing resistance to one of the deadliest viruses in modern history, according to the Associated Press.

The researchers did tests on 32 survivors—all aged 92 to 102—and found that the antibodies remained in their bloodstreams. They also manipulated the antibodies into a vaccine and injected it into mice, which became immune to the virus themselves.

This is the longest that cells targeting specific pathogens have lasted in people, the author of the study said.