Work

Did Horses Act as Intermediate Hosts That Facilitated the Emergence of 1918 Pandemic Influenza?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The ecological factors that led to the 1918 influenza pandemic remain unknown. We hypothesize that horses acted as intermediate hosts spreading a prepandemic avian-origin virus before 1918. This is supported by reports describing a large epizootic of unusually severe equine influenza beginning in 1915. Furthermore, the high horse demand during World War I resulted in one of the biggest equine mobilizations in North America between 1914 and 1918. This extensive movement of horses provided abundant opportunities for virus reassortment between prepandemic avian and human influenza viruses. Archived equine tissues or serum samples will be needed to test this hypothesis.

Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases

DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf197

Authors: Martin Furmanski, Pablo R Murcia

Institution: MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research

Language: English

Topic: Influenza Virus Research Studies

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Horserace Betting Levy Board, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council