It was the first pandemic for which many Member States had developed comprehensive pandemic plans describing the public health measures to be taken, aimed at reducing illness and fatalities. For the first time, pandemic vaccine was developed, produced and deployed in multiple countries during the first year of the pandemic.
While most cases of pandemic H1N1 were mild, globally it is estimated that the pandemic caused between — deaths in the first year alone. Children and young adults were disproportionately affected in comparison to seasonal influenza, which causes severe disease mainly in the elderly, persons with chronic conditions and pregnant women. Historians have long recognized, and criticized, the failure of public health officials in to appreciate the severity of the epidemic and take appropriate measures in the early stages of the outbreak.
Understanding how and why highly trained scientists, accomplished public officials, and responsible journalists made inaccurate predictions requires an appreciation of how they looked to history for guidance yet came away with the wrong lessons. As we look to history for lessons in early , we need to think broadly about how understanding the complexity of the past can inform decisions in the present and the future.
Petersburg was reported in newspapers in early December The disease spread quickly across Europe in the weeks that followed and reached the United States at the end of the year. At its peak, this global pandemic caused widespread illness and a significant increase in deaths from influenza and related respiratory diseases. Further outbreaks of influenza and elevated numbers of pneumonia cases occurred across the world during the spring of and again, in most locations, in the following years.
In September , as Americans became aware of a new outbreak of influenza that seemed to be arriving from Europe, public health officials drew upon this recent history to educate medical professionals as well as the general public.
Three years later there was another flare-up of the disease. Both times the epidemic spread widely over the United States. But while the proportion of deaths in the present epidemic has generally been low, in some places the outbreak has been severe and deaths have been numerous.
When death occurs it is usually the result of a complication. The historical example of the s influenza outbreaks had proven to be extremely misleading in the immediate circumstances. A chart tracking the progress of 20 different symptoms of influenza at 16 Army camps across the country. As local health officials and physicians responded to the outbreak, they too looked to the history of epidemics for guidance. Better warn them at once that it is very serious.
Dozens of companies and many more independent researchers began working on tests, treatments, and vaccines. The push for the human race to survive the pandemic became the primary concern in the world. The outcome of the Covid pandemic is impossible to predict, at the time of this writing. But we can learn from pandemics in history to determine our best courses. As awareness has grown, new treatments have been developed that make HIV far more manageable, and many of those infected go on to lead productive lives.
From the first reported case on July 13, in Hong Kong, it took only 17 days before outbreaks of the virus were reported in Singapore and Vietnam, and within three months had spread to The Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. While the pandemic had a comparatively low mortality rate. Estimates for the death toll of the Asian Flu vary depending on the source, but the World Health Organization places the final tally at approximately 2 million deaths, 69, of those in the US alone.
What separated the flu pandemic from other influenza outbreaks was the victims; where influenza had always previously only killed juveniles and the elderly or already weakened patients, it had begun striking down hardy and completely healthy young adults, while leaving children and those with weaker immune systems still alive. As a result, abolitionists called for people of African origin to be recruited to nurse the sick.
The disease is carried and transmitted by mosquitoes, which experienced a population boom during the particularly hot and humid summer weather in Philadelphia that year. It wasn't until winter arrived — and the mosquitoes died out — that the epidemic finally stopped. By then, more than 5, people had died. In the modern industrial age, new transport links made it easier for influenza viruses to wreak havoc.
In just a few months, the disease spanned the globe, killing 1 million people. It took just five weeks for the epidemic to reach peak mortality. The earliest cases were reported in Russia. The virus spread rapidly throughout St. Petersburg before it quickly made its way throughout Europe and the rest of the world, despite the fact that air travel didn't exist yet. A polio epidemic that started in New York City caused 27, cases and 6, deaths in the United States. The disease mainly affects children and sometimes leaves survivors with permanent disabilities.
Polio epidemics occurred sporadically in the United States until the Salk vaccine was developed in As the vaccine became widely available, cases in the United States declined. The last polio case in the United States was reported in Worldwide vaccination efforts have greatly reduced the disease, although it is not yet completely eradicated.
One-fifth of those died, with some indigenous communities pushed to the brink of extinction. The flu's spread and lethality was enhanced by the cramped conditions of soldiers and poor wartime nutrition that many people were experiencing during World War I.
Despite the name Spanish Flu, the disease likely did not start in Spain. Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press, which could therefore freely publish early accounts of the illness. As a result, people falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain, and the name Spanish Flu stuck.
The Asian Flu pandemic was another global showing for influenza. With its roots in China, the disease claimed more than 1 million lives. The virus that caused the pandemic was a blend of avian flu viruses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the disease spread rapidly and was reported in Singapore in February , Hong Kong in April , and the coastal cities of the United States in the summer of The total death toll was more than 1.
AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives since it was first identified. The virus made its way around the world, and AIDS was a pandemic by the late 20th century. For decades, the disease had no known cure, but medication developed in the s now allows people with the disease to experience a normal life span with regular treatment. Even more encouraging, two people have been cured of HIV as of early The swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of before spreading to the rest of the world.
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