Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 pandemic, is a deadly pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza virus. From February 1918 to April 1920, 500 million people were infected four times in a row, which corresponds to a third of the world population at that time. Deaths are usually estimated at 20 to 50 million, but estimates range from 17 to 100 million, making this epidemic one of the deadliest in human history.
The first observations of disease and mortality were recorded in March 1918 in the United States (Kansas) and in April in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. To maintain morale, the censors downplayed these early reports during World War I. The newspapers are free to cover the effects of infectious diseases in neutral regions of Spain, including the serious illness of Alfonso XIII. These stories gave the false impression that Spain was particularly hard hit. Hence the name "Spanish" influence. Historical and epidemiological data are insufficient to determine the geographic origin of a pandemic influenza and opinions about its location vary.
While most flu epidemics occur very early, killing the elderly and improving adult survival, the Spanish flu epidemic has resulted in unexpectedly high deaths among young people. Scientists attributed the high death rate from the 1918 pandemic flu to severe six-year weather anomalies that affected the movement of disease vectors and increased the likelihood of disease spreading in aquatic environments. ... I gave a possible explanation for this. According to some studies, the virus is particularly dangerous because it causes a cytokine storm and destroys the strong immune system in adolescents. In contrast, analysis of medical journals during the 2007 pandemic showed that viral infections were less aggressive than previous strains of influenza. Conversely, malnutrition, overcrowding of medical staff and hospitals, poor sanitation and recent wars are on the rise. In this case, it contributes to bacterial hyperinfection. This hyperinfection usually kills most victims after prolonged death. in this article we will briefly dicussed that what was the cause of spanish flu and How did the Spanish flu ended
The Spanish flu of 1918 was the first of three influenza pandemics caused by the H1N1 flu. The most recent of these was the 2009 swine flu pandemic. The 1977 Russian flu was mainly caused by the H1N1 virus, which infects young people.
Why is it called the Spanish flu?
Spain was one of the first countries to discover this epidemic, but historians believe this is likely the result of war censorship. Spain was a neutral country during the war and was not heavily censored by the media, allowing it to publish the first reports of the disease. As a result, the disease was mistaken for a disease typical of Spain and the name "Spanish flu" was retained.
In the late spring of 1918, the Spanish intelligence agency sent a message to the news agency informing the London Reuters office that "a strange epidemic has occurred in Madrid." The prevalence is moderate, and no deaths have been reported. Two weeks after the Spanish flu report was published (Henry Holt and Company, 2000), more than 100,000 people contracted the flu.
The disease affected Spain's Alfonso XIII and important politicians. 30-40% of people who work or live in confined spaces such as schools, military camps and government buildings are infected. In both cases, Madrid’s tram and telegraph network must be shut down because there are not enough healthy workers. Medical care and services cannot keep up with demand.
The term "Spanish flu" spread rapidly in the UK. According to Niall Johnson's book "The United Kingdom and the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic" (Routledge, 2006), the British media criticized the Spanish flu and caused the Spanish flu pandemic. …season. Read the Times. The high winds in Spain are believed to spread microbial dust. In other words, the humid climate in the UK can prevent the spread of influenza.
History repeats itself
As Spanish historians Laura and Maria Lara Martinez said: “It’s like a time machine. Everything we learn every day is done every day. 1918 The impact was obvious from the beginning. In 1918, people said it was “a little bit cold.” Two historians Euronews, a co-author of Spanish history, said that the health system remained in the face of rapid flooding in 2020. It is functioning well, schools and borders are closed, telephones and other public places are disinfected. According to historians, Americans may be fined $100 for not wearing masks.
In 1918, it was quickly discovered that crowds might cause further coverage. Historian Jaume Claret Miranda told Euronew: This includes the disinfection and separation of suspected contaminants. Claret said: "People must fight against superstition." "For example, in Zamora, the bishop called for mass, which helped the epidemic spread. In Madrid, the authorities did not cancel the celebration in San Isidro. "In fact, the first epidemic occurred immediately in Spain. After celebrating the patron saint in the Spanish capital. According to historians, one week after the celebration on May 1, the newspaper reported that everyone had the flu. Patient 0 was at the US military training ground in Kansas, but this incident caused a new type of influenza called "Spain". Historians Laura and Maria Lara Martinez claimed that the 1918 flu may have previously occurred in China or France in 1917. However, Spain's neutrality during World War I meant more new diseases.
1918-19 influenza pandemic
The Spanish flu pandemic has occurred three times. The first virus appears to have originated in the First World War in early March 1918. The site of the first appearance of the virus is still unknown, but it spread rapidly to Western Europe and Poland in July. The first flu epidemic was mild. However, in the summer people realized that there were more deadly diseases and it completely disappeared in August 1918. Pneumonia usually develops quickly and dies within two days after the first signs of the flu appear. For example, 6 days after the first reported flu, 6,674 cases occurred in Camp Devens, Massachusetts, United States. The third pandemic occurred the following winter, and the virus began to spread in the spring. In the following two cases, approximately half of all deaths occurred between the ages of 20 and 40. This is an age-specific scenario for deaths from influenza.
Why was the second wave of the "Spanish flu" in 1918 so deadly?
Since the world was exposed to the virus, innate immunity developed, and in 1918 the strain began to mutate and grow as part of the "antigen migration" process. The 1918 flu, which reappeared in the winter of 1919-1920 and 1920-1921, changed slightly, but was much less deadly and different than the seasonal flu.
"The 1918 flu must have lost its true pathogenesis in the early 1920s," Tauberg said. The really amazing thing according to genetic analysis is the seasonal epidemic of the same new influenza that first appeared in 1918. They resemble each other and are the immediate ancestors of the pandemic. Influence of the last century. "The seasonal flu pandemic still has the genetic traces of the 1918 virus." "Anyone who has been infected with hepatitis A in the past 102 years has its roots in the 1918 flu."
Most of the people died from the Spanish flu.
In fact, the vast majority of those infected with influenza in 1918 survived. The mortality rate of those infected in the country does not usually exceed 20%, but the mortality rate varies according to the population. Death rates for Native Americans are particularly high in the United States, possibly due to low levels of exposure to the influenza virus in the past. In some cases, the entire indigenous community has disappeared. Of course, even the 20% death rate is much higher than the flu, which kills less than 1% of those infected.
Development of the Spanish flu vaccine
At the same time, specialists tested various treatments. Patients bleed or receive oxygen therapy. Some patients receive blood transfusions from influenza survivors, and this surgery is helpful in some cases. Of course, competition for vaccine development continues. The German physician and bacteriologist Richard Pfeiffer discovered bacteria in the nose of a flu patient in 1892. The crowd was "staggering" and said it was the cause of the illness. Piper, an infectious disease giant, searches for a cause for the 1889-1890 pandemic. He developed this idea with Robert Koch and experimentally demonstrated the existence of endotoxins and their role in infectious diseases. He is also a pioneer in typhoid vaccination.
Not everyone agrees with Piper's request, but many people agree. In addition, bacteria are known to cause carbon monoxide, cholera and infectious diseases. Pharmaceutical companies are already promoting vaccines that can be used for other diseases. Doctors mainly use inactive microorganisms to make "vaccine" batches, which are usually injected into patients or tested in nursing homes or orphanages, and then handed over to other doctors. Allegations of overestimation and corruption have flooded.
Despite the strong claims for success, there is no regulation or control group for these "tests." The American General Practitioners and the American Medical Association doubted this statement. During this period, since 1918, many articles about vaccines have been published in the medical literature. JAMA is George McCoy of the United States Public Health Service and one of his colleagues "The failure of the bacterial vaccine to prevent influenza" (1918; 71 [24]): 1997. Doi: 10.1001/jam. 1918.206020500023006i). Some researchers suspect the virus, but the virus has just begun to grow. The confusion in this study eventually led to the formulation of vaccine testing standards.
Edward Jenner's research on smallpox began in 1797 with the development of a vaccine. From the 1880s to the 1890s, a series of cholera, rabies, tetanus, typhoid fever and plant pandemics were discovered. .. Another boom in the 1920s was tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, yellow fever and tick-transmitted encephalitis.
It has been looking for a flu vaccine since 1918, but it was not until 1933 that scientists isolated influenza A virus from ferrets. Further research in 1936 showed that the virus can grow into another milestone, namely embryonic eggs. In 1938, Jonas Salk and Thomas Francis developed a vaccine using fertilized eggs and successfully inactivated Australian influenza virus soldiers who were vaccinated during World War II . It was approved for civilian use in 1946. Type A and Type B proprietary vaccines were first developed in 1942, and many of these milestone diseases are still fighting the flu. However, as we have learned recently, these viruses are very flexible.
When will the epidemic end?
The epidemic is over when there is no uncontrolled community spread and cases are at very low levels. Dr. Almirante said. [In the Quran] This happens because it is easy to spot and discover cases in Europe. If the situation continues in the next few weeks, you can control the epidemic. Dr. Jeremy Green, a historian at Johns Hopkins University, told the New York Times: "People ask'when will it end?' They demand social causes."
Claret explained that during the Spanish flu pandemic, social pressure depends on the level of information available and its impact on national wars. For example, due to epidemics, British hospitals continued to operate after the war. But at some point, "people don't have to worry about it, because it often disappears," Claret said.
Spanish Flu Mortality Rate
The Spanish flu infects about 500 million people, or about a third of the world's population. Estimates of the number of people who have died vary widely, but the flu is considered one of the deadliest infectious diseases in history. According to initial estimates from 1927, the global mortality rate is 2.16 billion. It has been estimated since 1991 that between 25 and 39 million people have died from the virus. Estimates from 2005 put the death toll at 50 million (about 3% of the world's population) and rising to 100 million (over 5%). However, according to the 2018 revaluation by the American Journal of Epidemiology, the total was estimated at about 17 million. With a global population of between 1.8 and 1.9 billion, this estimate represents 1 to 6% of the population.
A 2009 study of influenza and other respiratory viruses, based on data from 14 European countries, estimated a total of an additional 2.64 million deaths from Spanish flu in Europe during the main stages of the epidemic from 1918 to 1919. In 1991, 2002 and 2006 were between 2 million and 2.3 million deaths in Europe. This corresponds to a death rate of about 1.1% of the European population (about 250 million in 1918), which is significantly higher than in the United States.
What advice did people get?
On June 28, 1918, a British newspaper published an advertisement informing people about the symptoms of the flu. However, it was actually an advertisement for formats, tablets manufactured and marketed by vitamin companies. Even when people die, they could make money by promoting false "cures". The ad said mint was "the best way to prevent the infection process" and that everyone, including children, should take 4 to 5 tablets a day until they feel better.
Americans have received similar advice on how to avoid infection. They were advised not to shake hands with other people, to stay indoors, to touch library books or to wear masks. Schools and theaters have closed, and the New York Department of Health has cracked down on hygiene laws that made spitting illegal, according to a review published in the Journal of Public Health Reports. Road. World War I resulted in a shortage of doctors in some areas and many of the other doctors became ill on their own. Schools and other buildings were converted into makeshift hospitals and medical students had to replace doctors.