The Spanish flu was in the same category of severity as the Bubonic Plague, which, when it struck as the Black Death, killed about 75 million people, 25-50 million of them in Europe. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. Since the emergence … The HA … The virus became associated with Spain as a result. The influenza pandemic of 1918–19 resulted from such an occurrence and affected populations throughout the world. The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus.Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world's population at the time – in four successive waves. While it’s unlikely that the “Spanish Flu” originated in Spain, scientists are still unsure of its source. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. An influenza virus called influenza type A subtype H1N1 is now known to have been the cause of the extreme mortality of this pandemic, which resulted in an estimated 25 million deaths, though some researchers have projected that it caused as many as 40–50 million deaths. THE 1918 Spanish flu killed up to 50 million people around the world and has been called “the mother of all pandemics”. The origins of the pandemicare debated. Today this epidemic is more precisely called a pandemic because it affected populations around the world. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Of course, to Barry the reason that the Spanish Flu is still often called the Spanish Flu has more to do with the powers-that-be misleading the sheeple as to the true cause of the disease: It is possible that one of the reasons the Spanish Flu has never been corrected is that it helps disguise the origin of the pandemic. !” 2008 STUDY Today, as the world grinds to a … During the pandemic of 1918-19, the so-called “Spanish Flu” killed 50-100 million people, including many soldiers. It was estimated that a third of the world’s population was infected by at least 50 million deaths and that is the worst pandemic in human history. In the two later waves about half the deaths were among 20- to 40-year-olds, an unusual mortality age pattern for influenza. Influenza is caused by a virus that is transmitted from person to person through airborne respiratory secretions. The claim: A study co-authored by Dr. Anthony Fauci found Spanish flu victims died from pneumonia caused by mask-wearing. The 1918 H1N1 flu pandemic, sometimes referred to as the “Spanish flu,” killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 people in the United States. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. The 1918 outbreak has been called the Spanish flu because Spain, which remained neutral during World War I, was the first country to publicly report cases of the disease. The soldiers at Fort Dix who were said to have had Swine Flu had been injected with a large variety of vaccines like the vaccines which caused the 1918 flu epidemic. The first apparently originated in early March 1918, during World War I. The pandemic killed millions of young adults who had no immunity to the strain. The 1918 H1N1 flu virus caused the deadliest pandemic of the 20th century. Pandemic: It’s a scary word.. Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world's population at the time – in four successive waves. The pandemic occurred in three waves. N early a century after it made its grisly debut, the mysteries surrounding Spanish flu continue to plague epidemiologists. However, one thing is certain — the 1918 Spanish Influenza was a vaccine-induced disease caused by extreme body poisoning from the conglomeration of many different vaccines. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Medical and scientific experts now agree that bacteria, not influenza viruses, were the greatest cause of death during the 1918 flu pandemic. It’s unknown exactly where the particular strain of influenza that caused the pandemic came from; however, the 1918 flu … However, during the summer a more lethal type of disease was recognized, and this form fully emerged in August 1918. (National Archives Identifier 45499341) Before COVID-19, the most severe pandemic in recent history was the 1918 influenza virus, often called “the Spanish Flu.” The virus infected roughly 500 million people—one-third of the world’s population—and caused 50 million deaths worldwide (double the Many people do not realize that disease killed far more soldiers on all sides than machine guns or mustard gas or anything else typically associated with WWI. Also a sudden movement of avian flu genes at the time– causing a change in the kind of hemagglutinin in an already existent flu strain – likely led to the pandemic. what caused the spanish flu, ... time, some flu strains that were predicted to cause a pandemic never ... level. India is believed to have suffered at least 12.5 million deaths during the pandemic, and the disease reached distant islands in the South Pacific, including New Zealand and Samoa. They called it Spanish flu so the vaccine didn’t get blamed. The 1918 influenza pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, was the deadliest epidemic in world history. However, modern scientists now believe the virus could have started in Kansas, US. The victims of the 1918 Spanish flu suffered greatly. The name Spanish flu emerged as a result of media censorship by the military in Allied countries during the First World War. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a coronavirus, not an influenza virus that caused the Spanish flu and the other influenza pandemics listed above. Here we take a look at what caused the deadly virus, why it mainly hit the younger population and how it finally ended. Red Cross workers make anti-influenza masks for soldiers, Boston, Massachusetts. While medically serious and … In the United States about 550,000 people died. — not the supposed “pandemic”! The influenza pandemic of 1918–19 resulted from such an occurrence and affected populations throughout the world. How did the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic cause such a high death toll? According to the authors of the report, the Spanish flu's H1N1 virus, which caused tens of millions of deaths in 1918, was also transmitted from humans to pigs during the pandemic. Naturally, during our pandemic, we seek to understand more about past pandemics — but the example of the 1918 Flu Pandemic is quite an extreme one. In the paper, the authors described their effort to sequence (i.e., characterize) the 1918 virus’s hemagglutinin “HA” gene. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. The pandemic ended by the summer of 1919, as those had been infected around the world had either died or developed immunity, reports History.com. The name of Spanish Flu came from the early affliction and large mortalities in Spain (BMJ,10/19/1918) where it allegedly killed 8 million in May (BMJ, 7/13/1918). The flu was first observed in Europe, the US and parts of Asia before it quickly spread throughout the world. It infected about half a billion people, and killed as many as 50 million people. Spanish flu was the most devastating pandemic ever recorded, leaving major figures like medical philanthropist Bill Gates to draw comparisons to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. If overuse of aspirin during the 1918 Spanish flu was the primary cause of flu-related death as Dr. Karen Starko contends, then modern medicine has missed a large lesson on how to prevent flu-related death — that it was aspirin-induced scurvy that heightened mortality during this worldwide flu pandemic, maybe not the flu itself. While the global pandemic lasted for two years, a significant number of deaths were packed into three especially cruel months in the fall of 1918. It has been estimated that at least 25 million (and possibly as many as 40–50 million) people worldwide died during the outbreak. The Spanish Flu started at the location this experimental bacterial vaccine was given making it the prime suspect as the source of the bacterial infections which killed so many. An estimated 500 million people across the globe caught the illness. The Russian Flu pandemic of 1977-78 was caused by the same H1N1 virus that caused the Spanish flu. View our online Press Pack. In 1918 through 1920, an Influenza pandemic colloquially named the "Spanish Flu", ravaged the world. And how can the Spanish flu prepare us for coronavirus? It was wrongly named the Spanish flu because it was first reported in the Madrid daily newspaper ABC. A study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people born after 1889 had not been exposed to the kind of virus which devastated the world in 1918. 10 Misconceptions About the 1918 ‘Spanish Flu’ In the pandemic of 1918, between 50 and 100 million people are thought to have died, representing as much as 5% of the world’s population. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed, The Spanish flu killed up to 50 million people in 1918 and 1919, Credit: Credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo, The pandemic spread throughout the world killing millions of young adults who had no immunity to the strain, Credit: Credit: Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo, Susanna Reid wears a medical mask as sick Piers Morgan wheezes and sniffles beside her on Good Morning Britain, the deadliest outbreak of the virus in history, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The Spanish flu came in three waves as is illustrated in Figure 1. Four locations are often considered the source of the initial outbreak: Engl… Who discovered the major blood groups? It started as a mild flu season, not different from any other. That “Spanish flu” pandemic was actually caused by a typhus vaccine. According to Michaelis et al. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. The age-specific mortality seems to be very different. One can hardly believe that after infecting half a billion people, the virus was contained in any sense of the word. what caused the spanish flu, ... time, some flu strains that were predicted to cause a pandemic never ... level. The Spanish flu acting very similar to Coronavirus. ", Driver celebrates with bubbly after being cleared of crash that killed pal, Three tier 2 areas now among England's worst Covid hotspots, London at risk of moving to Tier 3 before Xmas as cases rise in 10 areas, I’m A Celebrity fans spot moment Jordan North was being 'watched by a GHOST', Woman who slit throat of girl, 7, in park found NOT guilty of murder, ©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Updates? 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The Spanish Flu -- something that started as just regular flu in the US -- spread to the whole of Europe and eventually the world causing catastrophic damage to the lives of millions from 1918 to 1920 The Spanish flu also started as a ‘minor cold’, but in no time it completely took over and put immense loads on the medical systems in nations In Spain, the pandemic came right at the time of harvests and celebrations … To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. "The Spanish flu continued to appear, mutating and acquiring genetic material from other viruses." The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. The pandemic likely acquired this nickname because of World War I, which was in full swing at the time. What happened when Spanish Flu hit Britain? The 1918 Flu Pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu (a misleading name, since it most likely started in Kansas), was one of the most deadly pandemics ever to strike humankind. Medical and scientific experts now agree that bacteria, not influenza viruses, were the greatest cause of death during the 1918 flu pandemic. Influenza pandemic of 1918–19, also called Spanish influenza pandemic or Spanish flu, the most severe influenza outbreak of the 20th century and, in terms of total numbers of deaths, among the most devastating pandemics in human history. 1,2,3,4 An unusual characteristic of this virus was the high death rate it caused among healthy adults 15 to 34 years of age. For example, at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, U.S., six days after the first case of influenza was reported, there were 6,674 cases. The first wave, which made people notice the flu, occurred in July 1918. An estimated 500 million worldwide were infected, and the death toll was anywhere from between 20 to 100 million. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/influenza-pandemic-of-1918-1919, National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - 1918 Influenza: the Mother of All Pandemics, 1914-1918-online - International Encyclopedia of the First World War - Influenza Pandemic, influenza pandemic of 1918–19 - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up).
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