Collectively, myxoviruses are responsible for the majority of human morbidity and mortality due to viral respiratory illness globally [2, 3] . In particular, influenza virus is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality from respiratory disease in North America despite the existence of vaccine prophylaxis. This is due to the fact that the vaccines currently in use reduce illness in approximately 70% of healthy adults when homologous to the prevalent circulating virus, but protection in the elderly reaches only approximately 40%. Vaccine efficacy is reduced substantially when the circulating strains differ from those constituting the vaccine [2] .