The BTN3A3 gene, commonly expressed in our airways, is vital to protecting humans against avian flu as most strains of the virus cannot get passed its defences.
Researchers led by the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) conducted a series of extensive tests as part of an international study into the pandemic potential of avian flu.
Through these tests, they were able to show that understanding the genetic make-up of currently circulating avian flu strains may offer one of the best lines of defence against widespread human transmission.
Avian flu, also commonly referred to as bird flu, primarily spreads among wild birds such as ducks and gulls and can also infect farmed and domestic birds such as chickens, turkeys and quails.
