Spanish Influenza 1918 - Discover How The Biggest Plague Spread The World
That Deadliest Pandemic have Killed Millions People All
Over the World...
Spanish Influenza in 1918 is a good example of the old saying that a bad thing doesn't come alone. This
is how it's explained...
The Great War was in its final steps, but over the course of 4 years, it took a toll of
approximately 15-20 million lives across the globe.
As if that was not enough, a flu pandemic outburst at the beginning of the year, amplifying
the effects of the disaster. Many believe that the spread of the Spanish flu was hastened by the
fact that World War I was well underway, with troops moving rapidly around the world, spreading
the virus.
One country that was able to significantly 'dodge the bullet' of the deadliest flu was Japan, who
saw a mortality rate amongst their population that was less than one percent. This was due to the
fact that Japan acted smart and fast, restricting travel to a large degree.
The Deadliest Pandemic: Why and How?
Mass media has given this affliction the name of "Spanish Influenza" not
because it affected Spain particularly, but because the Spanish press, not being involved in the war, thus
not being censored covered the most of this pandemic.
Actually, this flu affected twenty percent of the entire population of the planet. It killed
over 50 million people over the course of 18 months, almost 3 times more than the wages of a 4
year war.
In the United States alone, around twenty eight percent of the population came down with
the influenza, with between a half of a million and six hundred and seventy five thousand
people dying as a result.
Spanish influenza 1918 was the result of an antigenic shift between two versions of the H1N1 virus.
This new strain proved to be particularly deadly, as it could kill a human through several
complications such as a highly resistant form of pneumonia, high fevers and by cytokine storm.
Although the studies of those times are lacking crucial information and testing (because of
lack of technology and because of the crisis caused by both the War and the pandemic), it is
believed that the cytokine storm was the cause of most deaths.
When a cytokine storm occurs, a positive feedback loop between the cytokines and immune cells
is being produced, doing intense damage to body tissues and organs. The most affected organs were
the lungs, which get flooded with fluids and immune cells in case of a cytokine storm, blocking
the respiratory airways.
SIDEBAR
The H1N1 strain was particularly devastating and surprising when it occurred, as most strains
of influenza killed only those who were very young and those who were very old. The Spanish influenza,
by contrast, affected people of all ages, and the flu hit hard.
H1N1's symptoms appeared quite suddenly, and it affected the lungs to such a degree that
hemorrhaging occurred, causing the sufferer to drown in their own fluids. While the disease simply faded
away, scientists have recently found samples of the deadly strain which they have kept in
laboratories to study.
Statistics of the Spanish flu during those times also suffer from a high degree of vagueness,
since the global crisis didn't allow for a clear studying of the phenomenon. It is generally
acknowledged that approximately 3% of the global population was killed by the Spanish influenza
and over 15% was afflicted.
Drastic measures were taken during the 1918 Spanish flu in an attempt to quell the spread of the
disease. A lot of states and cities enforced strict rules and restrictions on public gatherings
in places such as markets, theaters, churches and so forth. Public transportation, where
available, was also restricted.
The mass transit system would either be completely stopped, or passengers would simply not be
allowed to use the public transportation without wearing a protective mask. The fear for further
spreading the disease was so high that some locations even outlawed handshaking or kissing.
One treatment that was found to be of some merit in decreasing the mortality rate of the 1918
Spanish influenza was to give a blood transfusion to someone who was suffering from the flu's
symptoms. The transfusion was taken from a patient who had already overcome the flu, and
given to someone who was trying to combat the flu.
This resulted in the mortality rate decreasing by as much as fifty percent. It was one of many treatments
that doctors desperately tried during the disease's outbreak, and the only one to show any results.
To conclude, it cannot be doubted that there is a correlation between the outburst and
spread of the disease and the Great War. Although the formation of that particularly deadly
strain of flu virus at the same time as the Great War was most likely coincidental, the poor
living conditions, lack of personal hygiene environments and the movement of troops across
the world definitely helped in spreading the disease.**
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