Spanish flu what was it

The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about , occurring in the United States. Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. While the H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated , the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood.

With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly. Influenza Flu. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

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Carried by World War I doughboys returning home from Europe, the newly virulent virus spread first from Boston to New York and Philadelphia before traveling West to infect The horrific scale of the influenza pandemic—known as the "Spanish flu"—is hard to fathom. The virus infected and killed at least 50 million worldwide, according to the CDC. While the The influenza pandemic of and was the most deadly flu outbreak in history, killing up to 50 million people worldwide.

In the United States, where it ultimately killed around , people, local governments rolled out initiatives to try to stop its spread.

These varied In the spring of , just as the man-made horrors of World War I were finally starting to wind down, Mother Nature unleashed the deadliest strain of influenza in modern history.

The virus infected as much as 40 percent of the global population over the next 18 months. Of these, The worst influenza pandemic in history was the Spanish flu of Even today, the seasonal The influenza pandemic of and was a profoundly traumatic event. Unlike most flu strains, this one was particularly deadly for young adults between ages 20 and 40, meaning that many In the realm of infectious diseases, a pandemic is the worst case scenario. Live TV. This Day In History.

History Vault. What Is the Flu? Recommended for you. Spanish American War. Spanish Ranchers Bring Cattle to Texas. How U. When Mask-Wearing Rules in the Pandemic Faced Resistance The influenza pandemic of and was the most deadly flu outbreak in history, killing up to 50 million people worldwide. Why the Flu Became 'America's Forgotten Pandemic' The influenza pandemic of and was a profoundly traumatic event.

Pandemics That Changed History In the realm of infectious diseases, a pandemic is the worst case scenario. Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.

The plague did not discriminate. It was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults, usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young children.

The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years.