Mother of all Pandemic ‘GETTING STRONGER’

Global influenza pandemic also classed as FLU
Death – 50-100 million people
1/3 of the world population was affected
Mostly affect young people 20-40 years
Virus- H1N1 Origin- still unknown

It is called the ‘Spanish flu’ because Spain first reported it. Other countries were not reporting it because it was the time of world war I and the disease news can affect the war.

Why it mostly affecting young people?

Because 28 years before the Spanish flu (H1N1 virus) there was another pandemic called Russian flu (H3N8 virus) and in 1900 there was another outbreak of H1 virus. Many old people get immune to either the H1 or H3N8 virus. That’s why old people are least affected by the Spanish flu pandemic. Young people have a very strong immune response, when Spanish flu (H1N1 virus)  attack young people their immune system response so intense it damage patients tissue creating cytokine storm. So, a stronger immune system gets more damage to tissue.  

Many of today’s H1 virus (flu virus) are descendent from the 1918 virus.

The influenza virus mutates very quickly that the body can’t recognize it, this process is called antigenic shift.