Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

Published on : 12 Dec 2025, 3:12 am

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY : Bird flu viruses are a particular threat to humans because they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body's ways of stopping viruses in their tracks, according to new research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow.

In a study published today in Science, the team identified a gene that plays an important role in setting the temperature sensitivity of a virus. In the deadly pandemics of 1957 and 1968, this gene transferred into human flu viruses, and the resulting virus thrived.

Human flu viruses cause millions of infections every year. The most common types of these viruses, which cause seasonal flu , are known as influenza A viruses. They tend to thrive in the upper respiratory