[firebrand]

It occurred to me that it might be linked to metabolism somehow, because it got the men more than the women, as well as the young men more than the old.

My mother's father died of it when she was one. My grandmother said, "He had a sore throat and three days later he was dead."

Recently found out through the Internet that my father's father's brother also died of it. I got a query from someone about his grandfather, who died around 1920 or 1921. When I asked my father, he remembered: "He died of the flu."

[marsh2]

One of the explanations as to why the Spanish flu hit the young and healthy is the phenomenon called a "cytokine storm" where a robust immune system is actually overstimulated and damages organs. Older folks with weaker immune systems are not as affected. You can read about it here: http://www.fluwikie.com/pmwiki.php?n=Science.PrimerCytokineStorm

[SuzyQue]

The reason it affects healthier people and is so deadly appears to be because of cytokine cascade effect: http://www.cytokinestorm.com/