Imperial College -- A variant of last year’s pandemic influenza linked to fatal cases carried a mutation that enabled it to infect a different subset of cells lining the airway, according to new research. The study, due to be published next week in the Journal of Virology, suggests that the mutant virus could have impaired the lungs’ ability to clear out germs. The researchers behind the study, from Imperial College London, the Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research and the University of Marburg said the findings highlight the potential for deadlier strains of flu to emerge and spread.
