We just reported the discovery of hybrid viruses (you can read the paper here:
rdcu.be/cX8zV
Our studies were based on infections of cells in a safe and tightly controlled laboratory setting. Because all the work was done in cells, we don't know if hybrid viruses happen in people, and if they do, if they are associated with more severe disease. More work is needed (2/3)
Influenza and RSV have cocirculated for years, so if hybrid viruses are generated in nature, they are unlikely to be new, we just didn't know they existed. Now that we know they exist, we need to study them to see if they explain disease forms we did not understand before (3/3)
