The Influenza Outbreak of 1918 The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 was the deadliest pandemic in recent history. It was caused by the H1N1 virus which originated from avian genes. While there is no universal consensus on where the virus originated, it spread globally from 1918 to 1919. The Spanish flu is considered the worst pandemic in the history of mankind. In less than a year there were 40 million people who died from this virus, which spread at an intense pace, while it seemed that nothing and no one could do something to stop the epidemic. This research paper will disclose the damage that this powerful virus caused, along the scientific discoveries that have been made about the causes of this disease, and how the world has progressed ever
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The estimated number of deaths was at least 50 million worldwide and 675,000 in the United States (History.com Staff, 2010). The mortality rate was highest among people under 5 years of age, between 20 and 40 years old and over 65 years old. Although World War I did not cause the flu, the proximity of the barracks and the massive movements of troops helped its expansion. The researchers believe that the soldiers' immune systems were weakened by the strain of combat and chemical attacks, increasing the chances of contracting the disease. A factor in the transmission of the disease was the amount of travel of the combatants, which helped spread the virus across the Atlantic Sea. The modernization of transport systems allowed navigators to spread the pandemic more rapidly over a wider range of communities. The virus came in three waves, which were: Spring 1918, Autumn 1918, and Winter 1919 (Kahn, K.) The high mortality rate in healthy people, such as the age group of 20-40 years, was an exclusive feature of this …show more content…
They had obtained the synthesis of the protein hemagglutinin, which is responsible for the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, by collecting DNA from the lungs of an Inuit woman found in the tundra of Alaska, and preserved samples of American soldiers from World War I. On October 5, 2005, also in Science, the reconstruction of a totally extinct virus, the influenza virus of 1918 (H1N1), was published for the first time in history. The virus was completely reconstructed in vitro from the sequences obtained from the analysis of historical tissue samples carried out by a group led by Jeffrey Taubenberger. According to the report, after several decades the scientists managed to recreate the virus with the help of genetic techniques Reverse, to "bring it back to life" in a level 3 biosafety laboratory, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Its effects were studied in mice, chicken embryos and human lung cells, using different versions made with genes from other influenza viruses, and thus make comparisons and discover the elements that made it so deadly. Like the original, the reconstituted virus killed the mice in a few days, and it was proven that it also killed chicken embryos, in the same
The estimated number of deaths was at least 50 million worldwide and 675,000 in the United States (History.com Staff, 2010). The mortality rate was highest among people under 5 years of age, between 20 and 40 years old and over 65 years old. Although World War I did not cause the flu, the proximity of the barracks and the massive movements of troops helped its expansion. The researchers believe that the soldiers' immune systems were weakened by the strain of combat and chemical attacks, increasing the chances of contracting the disease. A factor in the transmission of the disease was the amount of travel of the combatants, which helped spread the virus across the Atlantic Sea. The modernization of transport systems allowed navigators to spread the pandemic more rapidly over a wider range of communities. The virus came in three waves, which were: Spring 1918, Autumn 1918, and Winter 1919 (Kahn, K.) The high mortality rate in healthy people, such as the age group of 20-40 years, was an exclusive feature of this …show more content…
They had obtained the synthesis of the protein hemagglutinin, which is responsible for the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, by collecting DNA from the lungs of an Inuit woman found in the tundra of Alaska, and preserved samples of American soldiers from World War I. On October 5, 2005, also in Science, the reconstruction of a totally extinct virus, the influenza virus of 1918 (H1N1), was published for the first time in history. The virus was completely reconstructed in vitro from the sequences obtained from the analysis of historical tissue samples carried out by a group led by Jeffrey Taubenberger. According to the report, after several decades the scientists managed to recreate the virus with the help of genetic techniques Reverse, to "bring it back to life" in a level 3 biosafety laboratory, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Its effects were studied in mice, chicken embryos and human lung cells, using different versions made with genes from other influenza viruses, and thus make comparisons and discover the elements that made it so deadly. Like the original, the reconstituted virus killed the mice in a few days, and it was proven that it also killed chicken embryos, in the same