1918 flu pandemic
hideThe 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was an influenza pandemic that spread to nearly every part of the world. It was caused by an unusually virulent and deadly influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus. Most of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. The flu pandemic has also been implicated in the sudden outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s.
The pandemic lasted from March 1918 to June 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide, or the approximate equivalent of one third of the population of Europe. An estimated 500 million people, one third of the world's population (approximately 1.6 billion at the time), became infected.
Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) which explains its unusually severe nature and the concentrated age profile of its victims. The strong immune systems of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults caused fewer deaths.
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News tagged with spanish flu
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Sep 16, 2009 |
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As a result of dominant media coverage of new epidemic threats such as swine influenza, other infection risks receive less public attention than they deserve.
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Sep 09, 2009 |
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Scientists in China have discovered that roots of a plant used a century ago during the great Spanish influenza pandemic contains substances with powerful effects in laboratory experiments in killing the H1N1 ...
Are We in for a Repeat of the Killer Flu Pandemic of 1918?
Sep 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1918, the Spanish flu raced around the globe, ending the lives of an estimated 40 million people in less than a year. Epidemiologists believe one in four Americans became infected during that pandemic ...
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Jul 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- In a disturbing new projection, health officials say up to 40 percent of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign ...
New 3-D structural model of critical H1N1 protein developed
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Singapore scientists report an evolutionary analysis of a critical protein produced by the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus strain in Biology Direct journal's May 20 issue.
1918 flu resulted in current lineage of H1N1 swine influenza viruses, study says
Apr 30, 2009 |
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In 1918 a human influenza virus known as the Spanish flu spread through the central United States while a swine respiratory disease occurred concurrently. A Kansas State University researcher has found that the virus causing ...
Pandemic study of 1918 outbreak provides background, death rates for 14 European countries
Apr 30, 2009 |
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A French study of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, which analysed mortality rates in approximately three-quarters of the European population, has concluded that it is unlikely that the virus, often described as Spanish Flu, ...
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(AP) -- Why has the swine flu engulfing Mexico been deadly there, but not in the United States?
Research team finds immune molecule that attacks wide range of flu viruses
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The discovery of the molecule, an antibody known as CR6261, is good news for researchers who hope to design a flu vaccine that would give humans lifelong protection against a majority of influenza viruses. The antibody also ...
Shades of 1918? New study compares avian flu with a notorious killer from the past
Biology /
Feb 10, 2009 |
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In the waning months of the First World War, a lethal virus known as the Spanish flu (influenza A, subtype H1N1), swept the United States, Europe and Asia in three convulsive waves. The year was 1918. The ...
