British researchers have found a "flu gene", it was announced last night.
The gene seems to be linked to vulnerability to the disease, researchers said.
People with a variant of the gene IFITM3 are much more likely than others to end up in hospital when they contract the virus, according to the findings published in the journal Nature.
The researchers say the gene’s role may not be confined to flu – it may be a crucial link in human defences against viruses.
The gene was first spotted when scientists began analysing genes to detect proteins that could combat influenza virus and also dengue virus.
Once the gene was identified, tests were performed on 53 people who had needed hospital care for flu – and several were found to have a rare variant of the gene.
Researcher Professor Paul Kellam, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “Our research is important for people who have this variant as we predict their immune defences could be weakened to some virus infections.
"Ultimately as we learn more about the genetics of susceptibility to viruses, then people can take informed precautions, such as vaccination to prevent infection.”
And fellow researcher Professor Peter Openshaw, of the Centre for Respiratory Infection, Imperial College London, UK, said: “This new discovery is the first clue from our detailed study of the devastating effects of flu in hospitalised patients.
“It vindicates our conviction that there is something unusual about these patients, and that ground-breaking clinical studies can be performed in the UK."
The research also involved the Roslin Institute, London, UK, and Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA.
IFITM3 restricts the morbidity and mortality associated with influenza. Nature March 25 2012; doi:10.1038/nature10921
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