Spanish flu

After a suspected case of the 1918 Spanish flu vims (which, in a global pandemic during World War I, affected half the world s population and killed almost 25 million people in 18 months) was identified in 1976, Congress passed the National Swine Flu Immunization Program, releasing manufacturers from the liability, so that a flu vaccine... 

In 1976, another vaccine case illustrated how dangerous a mistake involving vaccines can be. Between October 1,1976 and December 14,1976, more than 40 million people were vaccinated against swine flu (a virus similar to fhe 1918 Spanish flu virus fhaf killed so many during World War I). The feared epidemic never manifested, buf fhere was a tenfold increase in CBS (in which fhe body s immune system attacks its peripheral nerves), which thousands of people confracfed. 

Influenza has plagued humankind since the dawn of history and continues to affect a significant proportion of the population irrespective of age or previous infection history. These periodic epidemics that reinfect otherwise healthy people have devastated communities world wide. Some pandemics like the 1917-1919 Spanish flu were responsible for the death of tens of millions of people throughout the world. The origins, spread, and severity of influenza epidemics have been a puzzle that has only in the last two decades been adequately addressed. In early times it was thought that the disease was the evil influence (sic) of the stars, and other extraterrestial objects. At present it is generally accepted that the disease is of viral origin, spread by aerosols produced by infected animals, and the continual production of new strains of the virus results in reinfection of the disease (reviewed in Reference 1). 

The drug phenacetin became very popular in certain countries because of particular circumstances. For example, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 led to widespread use of the drug for the treatment of the high temperature and aches and pains. It also became a favourite with Swiss watchmakers who suffered badly from headaches as a result of the close work required in watchmaking. 

This feeble arsenal of drugs, essentially devoid of antibiotics, was no match for the catastrophe that followed on the heels of World War I a flu pandemic (sometimes called the Spanish flu ), arguably the greatest natural catastrophe of the 20th century. It ravaged a world weakened by war with millions of soldiers in transit. The flu killed more than 20 million, while medical science had to humbly recommend rest, lots of fluid, and aspirin as the disease ran its course between 1918 and 1920. 

Vimses are causative agents of many human, animal, and plant diseases. AIDS, SARS, and avian flu are viral diseases, which are nearly daily covered by the headlines in papers and by the news items on radio and television. In 1917—1919 a Spanish flu pandemic killed over 50 million people. The vims involved was most probably a mutation of some avian vims. The Avian flu pandemic (caused by the H5N1 variant) was, by comparison very small, as it has caused only about 150 fatalities. The great crmcem for virologists and epidemiologists is the extremely high mortality rate (over 50 %) of infections with this vims. In the form of vaccines, vimses are inactivated or attenuated so as to prevent diseases in susceptible populations. 

Johns Hopkins epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Dr. Trish Perl says the movie is a stark reminder that global pandemics do occur and can result in enormous casualties. The Spanish Flu of 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. 

To the tragedy of the loss of a brother was added Piccardi s mother s death in 1918 following the pandemic of Spanish flu, and then the agonizing death of his sister Laura who died of tuberculosis 8 July 1920—the loss of three family members within a short time. After the misfortunes of war, Piccardi tried to resume a normal life the first sign of his revival was his graduation at Turin in 1921. 

Three such pandemics struck in the 20th century, the most serious of which was the 1918—1919 Spanish flu that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including many healthy young adults. It has now been about 40 years since the last pandemic, an outbreak of Hong Kong flu in 1968—1969, and many public heath officials fear that another may occur soon. The Hong... 

Kong flu was relatively mild compared to the Spanish flu—worldwide casualties were only 750,000—but there is no way of knowing how deadly the next outbreak will be. 

The Russian flu of 1889-1890 was the first of the flu pandemics. It killed about 1 million people. The Spanish flu that broke out in 1918-1919 killed over 50 million people worldwide. The Asian flu of 1956-1958 killed about 2 million people before a vaccine was developed in 1957 to contain it. The Hong Kong flu of 1968-1969—so called because it affected 15% of the population of Hong Kong—had a much lower death rate—only about 750,(X)0 people died—because people who had had the Asian flu had some immunity. Because this was the last worldwide pandemic, public health officials worry that another may occur soon. 

The United States is preparing for what it is anticipating will be a normal flu season. Approximately 60 million flu vaccine doses are ready to be distributed. Unfortunately, the strain that actually emerges proves to be resistant to the vaccine and is unusually virulent—mortality is predicted at 5/1,000, only slightly less than the Spanish flu of 1918 (the mortality rate for those exposed to the Spanish Flu is estimated to have been slightly less than 1 percent with a case fatality of 2.5 percent). For-... 

Impact on Government Function. State and local governments in heavily affected areas may be overwhelmed in their attempts to respond adequately. During the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemic, hospitals in Washington, D.C., were overwhelmed with patients and those infected were placed in houses, apartments, and rooming houses, either with or without medical care. The pandemic may well affect enough localities that the federal... 

Relatively safe. The toxic dose for adults is about 10-30 g, which is many times greater than the dosage in a standard tablet of 300 mg. Both salicylic acid and aspirin can breach the stomach s protective lining, causing bleeding, but aspirin causes much less stomach irritation. Back at the time of the 1918-1919 influenza ( Spanish flu ) pandemic, aspirin was widely used as a medication. 

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1917 to 1919 has been called by some in the pre-HIV age as "the last great plague." The middle estimate of the worldwide death toll was approximately twenty million lives lost to the illness in that era. Perhaps as many as 500 million people had the illness commonly known as "grippe." Although other plagues had higher death rates, in terms of sheer numbers, the Spanish flu pandemic is credited as one of the worst, if not the worst In the United Stales, one person in eveiy four [approximately twenty million cases] became ill with the flu. 

Emergency hospital ward set up during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic at the US Army s Camp Funston in Kansas, USA. 

Aspirin s popularity grew over the first half of the twentieth century, spurred on by its effectiveness in the wake of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, and aspirin s profitability led to fierce competition and the proliferation of aspirin brands and products, especially after the American patent held by Bayer expired in 1917. 

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