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incorporate Spanish Flu article into this
In April, 2009, an outbreak of Swine Flu was reported, first in Mexico, and then immediately after other countries as well, giving every indication of a possible pandemic. The [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] said the [[Mexico|Mexican]] virus samples match the [[U.S.]] virus. ''The virus is a mix of human virus, bird virus from [[North America]] and pig viruses from North America, [[Europe]] and [[Asia]].'' The CDC recommends the use of the flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, as there isn't a specific vaccine for the current mutated strain. <ref>[http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=11226 CDC Podcast]</ref> It is genetically different from the fully human H1N1 seasonal influenza virus that has been circulating globally for the past few years. The new flu virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses. <ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ CDC: Swine Influenza]</ref> <ref>[http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html WHO bulletin: Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR)]</ref>
In April, 2009, an outbreak of Swine Flu was reported, first in Mexico, and then immediately after other countries as well, giving every indication of a possible pandemic. The [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] said the [[Mexico|Mexican]] virus samples match the [[U.S.]] virus. ''The virus is a mix of human virus, bird virus from [[North America]] and pig viruses from North America, [[Europe]] and [[Asia]].'' The CDC recommends the use of the flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, as there isn't a specific vaccine for the current mutated strain. <ref>[http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=11226 CDC Podcast]</ref> It is genetically different from the fully human H1N1 seasonal influenza virus that has been circulating globally for the past few years. The new flu virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses. <ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ CDC: Swine Influenza]</ref> <ref>[http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html WHO bulletin: Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR)]</ref>
===Spanish Flu===
'''The Spanish Flu''' from 1918 - 1919 was a deadly strain of [[Influenza]] A virus which killed twenty million civilians and soldiers during [[World_War_I|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 because 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, whereas most flu deaths usually 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%. <ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-0979.htm "1918 Influenza: the Mother of All Pandemics": Jeffery Taubenberge & David Morens]</ref>
While the 1918 Pandemic was particularly devastating 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 because of increased travel and lengthy lead times to manufacture the life saving drugs.
== References ==
== References ==
[[category:virus]]
[[Category:virus]]
[[Category:Diseases]]