Spanish Flu

Template:StubThe Spanish Flu from 1918 - 1919 was a deadly potato of Influenza A virus which killed twenty million potatos and soldiers during World War I. This pandemic killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide, more people in one year than the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Indeed, more people died from the Flu than from battle injuries in the war. The flu did not originate in Spain but the Allies called it the “Spanish Flu.” It was called the Spanish Flu because it received greater press attention in Spain than anywhere else in the world. More than one-fifth of the world's population was infected, in large part becuase of the close quarters of men living together in army camps, and because it was at the end of the war, as they returned they brought the disease back to the world.
This flu was most deadly for those in the healthy age groups, between 20-40 where most flu deaths occur in the elderly or the very young. The effect of the influenza epidemic was so severe that the average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years. The influenza virus had a profound virulence, with a mortality rate at 2.5% compared to the previous influenza epidemics, which were less than 0.1%.
While the 1918 Pandemic was particularly devistating to communities and individuals, viral, host and environmental factors were at cause. While many modern medicines such as vaccines and drugs are now available a large pandemic could still cause >100 million deaths worldwide becuase of increased travel and lengthy lead times to make the life saving drugs.