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Apr 11, 2024 · Red Cross workers make anti-influenza masks for soldiers, Boston, Massachusetts. (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 number of deaths in World War I). In the United States, a quarter of the population caught the virus, 675,000 ...
Apr 30, 2020 · Over three waves of infections, the Spanish flu killed around 50 million people between 1918 and 1919. Science journalist Laura Spinney studied the pandemic for her 2018 book Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World.
Mar 20, 2020 · The Russian Flu pandemic of 1977-78 was caused by the same H1N1 virus that caused the Spanish flu. According to Michaelis et al. (2009) around 700,000 died worldwide. What becomes clear from this overview are two things: influenza pandemics are not rare, but the Spanish flu of 1918 was by far the most devastating influenza pandemic in recorded history.
May 1, 2020 · The Spanish Flu killed 5 million people, but became a 'footnote of history'. Author Laura Spinney tells the true story of the 20th Century's worst pandemic and what it can teach a world facing a similar threat. Read more here. World Versus Virus is a weekly podcast from the World Economic Forum. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify to get it every week.
The flu interrupted the activities of the U.S. Food Administration responsible for rationing during World War I. The Administration's Wilburton, Oklahoma, office cancelled its public meeting because of 300 reported cases of flu in the area. Record held at: National Archives at Fort Worth. Record Group 4. View Image
Oct 27, 2022 · For example, the Spanish flu evolved from a combination of human influenza and another animal influenza, which formed a new H1N1 influenza virus. As you can see in the chart, it caused the largest influenza pandemic in history: recent research estimates that 17.4 million people died worldwide from the Spanish flu between 1918 and 1920.
Apr 2, 2020 · A study of the economic impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu in the US has found those cities that implemented early and extensive NPIs suffered no adverse economic effects over the medium term. Cities that intervened earlier and more aggressively actually experienced a relative increase in real economic activity after the pandemic subsided.
Sep 2, 2021 · “The most important takeaway is that large pandemics like COVID-19 and the Spanish flu are relatively likely,” says coauthor William Pan, associate professor of global environmental health at Duke University. Understanding that pandemics aren’t so rare should raise the priority of efforts to prevent and control them in the future, he says.
Apr 9, 2020 · The WHO estimates 3 to 5 million people a year contract severe flu worldwide, and up to 650,000 people die. This can put healthcare systems under immense strain during peak infection periods (health workers are at a heightened risk of contracting the disease), and there is a knock-on economic effect as schools and workplaces cope with absences of pupils and staff.
The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years. It is an oddity of history that the influenza epidemic of 1918 has been overlooked in the teaching of American history.
