One of the more disturbing characteristics of the 1918 pandemic influenza was that the virus disproportionally killed the young and healthy, leading researchers to believe that an overreaction by the immune system, the "cytokine storm" could be the cause of many deaths.
Researchers recently ran trials both with genetically altered mice and mice given suppressants for their immune system. Unfortunately, both had higher mortality rates than the baseline, which is not good news for treating either H5N1 infections or pandemic flu
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/jul1607cytokine.html
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