Influenza: How the Great War helped create the greatest pandemic ever known
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The Great War helped create the influenza pandemic of 1918, which eventually brought an early end to the war itself
Like most rhymes one hears as a child, I had no idea what this one meant at the time, and I didn't think about its potential meaning as I became older. But one afternoon, I suddenly understood the relevance of this poetry. These words came to me suddenly during lecture as I was sitting in a vast university lecture hall pursuing a degree in microbiology. I hadn't thought about that rhyme in a long time, so I was taken aback by this sudden and obtrusive mental visitor. Since early infancy, my life had changed in practically every way imaginable.
I found microbiology fascinating because I worked in a hospital microbiology lab to pay for a portion of my education. However, this particular lecture captured my attention more than any other because it challenged my worldview. This lecture covered the flu and included information on the 1918–1919 pandemic. I had never even heard of this global disease outbreak, which had an unprecedented mortality rate and claimed more lives than any pandemic of the plague.
Hearing that between 50 and 100 million people (3-6 percent of the world's population at the time) died in less than 18 months, the highest number of infectious disease-related deaths ever recorded, made it sound more like science fiction than actual science.
The First World War, or "The Great War," as it was known in the years just before the Second World War ended, saw the appearance of this specific strain of influenza. The impartial media in Spain at the time, which allowed some degree of censorship freedom, openly highlighted this country's influenza troubles, which made its condition appear more serious than anywhere else. As a result, this influenza strain became known as the "Spanish flu."
Even though they were comparatively quiet about it, France, Great Britain, and the United States all experienced severe losses. Compared to the deaths from the actual conflict, their influenza deaths were far higher. It was only until later that archival documents showed that influenza most likely began by severely affecting German and Austrian soldiers before spreading to their civilian populations and Allied soldiers. Since both sides suffered such horrific losses as a result, many historians believe influenza had a crucial role in the war's early conclusion.
I found microbiology fascinating because I worked in a hospital microbiology lab to pay for a portion of my education. However, this particular lecture captured my attention more than any other because it challenged my worldview. This lecture covered the flu and included information on the 1918–1919 pandemic. I had never even heard of this global disease outbreak, which had an unprecedented mortality rate and claimed more lives than any pandemic of the plague.
Hearing that between 50 and 100 million people (3-6 percent of the world's population at the time) died in less than 18 months, the highest number of infectious disease-related deaths ever recorded, made it sound more like science fiction than actual science.
The First World War, or "The Great War," as it was known in the years just before the Second World War ended, saw the appearance of this specific strain of influenza. The impartial media in Spain at the time, which allowed some degree of censorship freedom, openly highlighted this country's influenza troubles, which made its condition appear more serious than anywhere else. As a result, this influenza strain became known as the "Spanish flu."
Even though they were comparatively quiet about it, France, Great Britain, and the United States all experienced severe losses. Compared to the deaths from the actual conflict, their influenza deaths were far higher. It was only until later that archival documents showed that influenza most likely began by severely affecting German and Austrian soldiers before spreading to their civilian populations and Allied soldiers. Since both sides suffered such horrific losses as a result, many historians believe influenza had a crucial role in the war's early conclusion.
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Even the most isolated regions of the world were not safe from the flu during that final summer of The Great War, which hitchhiked everywhere humans travelled. In just two months, 20% of Western Samoa's population passed away and 90% of them contracted the disease. In Alaska, entire villages perished. Even my professor, whose PhD was the product of her research on Yersinia pestis, another significant human killer, was visibly astounded by the influenza virus's lethal effectiveness.
The 1918 influenza virus killed in a manner distinct from that of the majority of other influenza strains. It spread through the air, was very contagious, infected 50% or more of those exposed to it, and had odd morbidity and fatality rates, with an estimated mortality rate of 20% compared to other influenza strains' regular 0.1 percent mortality rate. It has unusual patterns of lethality, preferring to kill young, healthy people between the ages of 20 and 40 while largely sparing the lives of the elderly. The death rate for pregnant women, which ranged between 23 and 71 percent, was also particularly high.
What is the origin of this supervirus? How could a disease this strong suddenly appear? How did it manage to murder so many? The cruellest injustice of them was undoubtedly the fact that the deadliest rampage took place right as The Great War was coming to an end.
Unexpected alliances and enigmatic beginnings
Over the years, a great deal of historical, scientific, and medical sleuthing has been published, but the precise origin of this viral strain is still unknown. Many scientists contend that it originated in China (ref), where ducks, pigs, and people still frequently coexist in close quarters. This environment is the ideal biological mixing bowl for novel influenza viruses to evolve the ability to "jump" from animal hosts into humans and cause serious illness against which no humans have developed any prior immunity. Mark Osborne Humphries, a military historian, reached the same result after making thorough use of historical records.
proving that this influenza strain originated in China in 1917 and demonstrating how military routes cut over the world to support the war effort aided its quick spread on the Western Front (ref). While Austrian papers led political scientist Andrew Price-Smith to hypothesise that the virus began in Austria in 1917, several historians, including John Barry, have claimed that the virus started on a pig farm in Kansas in the central United States (ref; also see his book [2009]). (2008).
Regardless of its source, the 1918 influenza virus swiftly changed into a potent human killer.
In fact, as I sat spellbound in that university lecture hall, the characteristic of the 1918 flu virus that I found most puzzling was its enhanced mortality. All of the infections that we have discovered so far had undergone changes that made them less dangerous. There are various evolutionary explanations for this. The majority of infections maintain a delicate balance between virulence and maximising their capacity for transmission to new hosts and suitable host resources for quick reproduction. Although pathogens don't "desire" to kill their hosts (it's not in their best interests), they usually do become more lethal when their ability to spread and reproduce is boosted and their virulence isn't. However, if a disease develops a severe enough strain to kill its existing host before infecting fresh victims,
This situation is exactly what was seen when Australians introduced the strong rabbit-killing virus, myxomatosis, in 1950 in an effort to purge the continent of hundreds of millions of invasive feral rabbits. In the coming years, the virus not only mutated to become less deadly, but also the few remaining feral rabbits were able to acquire immunity to it (a feature they passed on to their progeny).
Even the most isolated regions of the world were not safe from the flu during that final summer of The Great War, which hitchhiked everywhere humans travelled. In just two months, 20% of Western Samoa's population passed away and 90% of them contracted the disease. In Alaska, entire villages perished. Even my professor, whose PhD was the product of her research on Yersinia pestis, another significant human killer, was visibly astounded by the influenza virus's lethal effectiveness.
The 1918 influenza virus killed in a manner distinct from that of the majority of other influenza strains. It spread through the air, was very contagious, infected 50% or more of those exposed to it, and had odd morbidity and fatality rates, with an estimated mortality rate of 20% compared to other influenza strains' regular 0.1 percent mortality rate. It has unusual patterns of lethality, preferring to kill young, healthy people between the ages of 20 and 40 while largely sparing the lives of the elderly. The death rate for pregnant women, which ranged between 23 and 71 percent, was also particularly high.
What is the origin of this supervirus? How could a disease this strong suddenly appear? How did it manage to murder so many? The cruellest injustice of them was undoubtedly the fact that the deadliest rampage took place right as The Great War was coming to an end.
Unexpected alliances and enigmatic beginnings
Over the years, a great deal of historical, scientific, and medical sleuthing has been published, but the precise origin of this viral strain is still unknown. Many scientists contend that it originated in China (ref), where ducks, pigs, and people still frequently coexist in close quarters. This environment is the ideal biological mixing bowl for novel influenza viruses to evolve the ability to "jump" from animal hosts into humans and cause serious illness against which no humans have developed any prior immunity. Mark Osborne Humphries, a military historian, reached the same result after making thorough use of historical records.
proving that this influenza strain originated in China in 1917 and demonstrating how military routes cut over the world to support the war effort aided its quick spread on the Western Front (ref). While Austrian papers led political scientist Andrew Price-Smith to hypothesise that the virus began in Austria in 1917, several historians, including John Barry, have claimed that the virus started on a pig farm in Kansas in the central United States (ref; also see his book [2009]). (2008).
Regardless of its source, the 1918 influenza virus swiftly changed into a potent human killer.
In fact, as I sat spellbound in that university lecture hall, the characteristic of the 1918 flu virus that I found most puzzling was its enhanced mortality. All of the infections that we have discovered so far had undergone changes that made them less dangerous. There are various evolutionary explanations for this. The majority of infections maintain a delicate balance between virulence and maximising their capacity for transmission to new hosts and suitable host resources for quick reproduction. Although pathogens don't "desire" to kill their hosts (it's not in their best interests), they usually do become more lethal when their ability to spread and reproduce is boosted and their virulence isn't. However, if a disease develops a severe enough strain to kill its existing host before infecting fresh victims,
This situation is exactly what was seen when Australians introduced the strong rabbit-killing virus, myxomatosis, in 1950 in an effort to purge the continent of hundreds of millions of invasive feral rabbits. In the coming years, the virus not only mutated to become less deadly, but also the few remaining feral rabbits were able to acquire immunity to it (a feature they passed on to their progeny).
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- swine flu
- influenza vaccine
- hib vaccine
- avian influenza