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Flu treatment methodologies are being rapidly developed in Europe and around the world after reports from Northern Ireland that two children have died from the disease.
The outbreak marks the latest emergence of the H1N1 virus, popularly known as swine flu, which has swept across Asia, Europe and North America for many years.
New vaccines are needed because of the tendency of flu viruses to mutate rapidly, creating new strains that are resistant to protective vaccinations developed for ealier versions.
Swine flu is thought to have originated in populations of farm pigs, mutating to a form that infected humans. The swine flu was first identified in farm animals in 1918, then recurring in 1930.
The strain reappeared between 1997 and 2002, reemerging in strains that could infect both humans and pigs.
