“The complete coding sequence for the 1918 pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus has been recently identified (Taubenberger et al., 2005, Nature, vol. 437, pp. 889– 893). Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention together with collaborators at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, MD, and Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, GA, reconstructed the 1918 pandemic influenza virus by using reverse genetics to study the properties associated with its extraordinary virulence (Tumpey et al., Characterization of the Reconstructed 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic Virus, Science 2005 310: 77– 80). With the publication of the complete coding sequence, it will be possible for other scientists with knowledge of reverse genetics technology to reconstruct the 1918 pandemic influenza virus at other institutions.”