Scientists Gained Fresh Knowledge about the Spread of Virus

Scientists gained fresh knowledge about how viruses such as flu and HIV jumped between species, a finding that is expected to help predict the appearance of new diseases. The research carried out by Edinburgh and Cambridge universities sought to understand how viruses such as bird flu infected distant species like humans.
 
The scientists found that the viruses were better able to infect species closely related to their typical target species than species that were distantly related. However, the research also suggested that when diseases make a big leap they may then spread easily in species closely related to the new victim, regardless of how closely related these are to the original target species, the BBC reported.
 
By infecting more than 50 species of flies with three different viruses, the researchers showed that species closely related to a virus' usual target species were more susceptible than distantly related flies. They also showed that groups of flies that were closely related were similarly susceptible to the same viruses.