Mystery of 1918 Flu Pandemic Solved . . . (Birds !)

Observer/Guardian ^ | 2/6/2004 | Tim Radford, Science Editor

[ex-Texan]

More Reports Here

[Paloma_55]

Should make it easier for the Twelve Monkeys to complete their mission.

[TheBigB]

[Rodney King]

So it killed millions in 1918, but was first found in 1933? I guess people were too busy dying in 1918 to look in the mirror.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Great Influenza ping

[Red Badger]

Good movie.......Brad Pitt as an insane environmentalist....is that redundant?.......or tridundant?.....

[skinkinthegrass]

..an ferret? ...not just domestic ducks/chickens or wild geese.

[Puppage]

Mystery of 1918 Flu Pandemic Solved . . . (Birds !)

[ThePythonicCow]

Say what - how would looking in a mirror help see a virus? Your mirror must have a lot higher power magnification than the ones in my bathroom ;).

[discostu]

The solution is a bit more obvious than that. It was a particular nasty strain (which happens every dozen years or so) and our medical knowledge and techniques weren't that good. If the 1918 strain popped up again next flu season it would be a very bad flu season, because it was a very nasty strain, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as it was in 1918, our medicine can handle that beast now.

[Rodney King]

Say what - how would looking in a mirror help see a virus? Your mirror must have a lot higher power magnification than the ones in my bathroom ;).

Well, presumeably the flu was found in 1918 when people were dropping like flies from it.

[Doctor Stochastic]

I heard this about 50 yeas ago from my dad. He had heard it from his professors some time before that. Of course, this article points out a closer connection.

[Ceebass]

You're right.

Also most of the afflicted died from secondary infections because back then they didn't have antibiotics.

[baseball_fan]

Sir John said: "Bird viruses recognise different receptors than human viruses. So when they transfer into the human population they have got to change their binding capacity. With the Asian flu and Hong Kong flu in 1957 and 1968, we think we know how they do that.

"But in the case of the 1918-1957 viruses, where the Asian and Hong Kong flu changed, these ones stayed the same: they looked just like the avian progenitor. So the mystery is: what happened to allow them to infect humans?"

One part of the mystery solved, another mystery created:"what happened to allow them to infect humans?"

Also, why did the 1918 pandemic after killing 20-40m people after 18 months suddenly disappear globally?

[Lee Heggy]

My grandfather died of the 1918 flu in Stafford Kansas. My father was only a few months old. There were not enough coffins to bury people in so they used whatever was at hand, They had to break his legs to get him into a girl sized coffin. Terrible times.

[ex-Texan]

And . . . lions, tigers and bears! . . . The H5N1 virus or bird flu infects them all.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1374031/posts

[Constitution Day]

Very interesting! Thanks very much.
There's some great science being done out there.

[1066AD]

Interesting. My father survived the "Spanish Flu" in 1918 and has never caught any strain of flu since then.

[discostu]

Yep, didn't have antibiotics, were really still learning germ theory, didn't have the transportation infrastructure to move medical supplies (especially perishable supplies) around quickly and effectively, and just weren't ready for anything major. A modern day third world country probably has better medical practices than any place in the world in 1918.

[skinkinthegrass]

The H5N1 virus or bird flu infects them all.

WOW!..that's interesting, a pandemic plague.