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New pandemic strains of influenza virus typically are more virulent than those that have been circulating longer, presumably because they present novel antigens to hosts. In this new study, researchers showed that 2009 influenza A H1N1 virus does not contain many surface antigens that have been presented to B cells by other viral strains. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings that few people who were born after 1957 have neutralizing antibodies to 2009 H1N1 and that H1N1 infection has been more problematic among younger people. Neutralizing antibodies typically recognize viral surface antigens.
However, the current pandemic H1N1 virus thus far has not proved to be as virulent as was feared initially. The researchers found that…