Spanish Flu of 1918- World's most renowned Pandemic

Spanish Flu of 1918- World's most renowned Pandemic

Flu is a simple respiratory disease that is quite common these days. People often term it as a common cold and do not pay much heed to it. One must know that it is not something that comes around easily as well as something that leaves one's body so soon. During the year 1918, this minute virus composed of RNA created havoc across the world. It is quite unimaginable how such a small living organism can create trouble for almost all others. It was primarily known to be as the Spanish Flu of 1918.

H1N1 Influenza Virus

H1N1 Influenza A virus is the name of this RNA. The virus is stated as the one that affects the tracheal system of the human and then the lungs. Once it reaches the lungs, it blocks bronchioles leading to the formation of mucus. This then leads to breathing problems such as asthma to the affected person. There are chances that it can even lead to Pneumonia, reducing the life expectancy of the affected person.
 
It primarily originated in Spain but that is all due to the speculations caused by the local newspapers that were given the liberty to publish the ongoing situation faced by the country.  It is stated to exist for lost a year from early summer 1918 to 1919. Today, after finding out the vaccine, it is quite common. The mortality rate is also quite decent. The virus is known for its severe effects on the young ones or in elderly individuals.

Medicine

Some of the major areas that were hit by the pandemic were Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, and the United States. One of the major news during that Pandemic was the illness of King Alfonso XIII. This became one of the major news that was being spread across Europe as well as being one of the prime reasons to state Spain as the origin of the Spanish Flu of 1918.

The number of deaths that H1N1 Influenza Virus caused during the first world war was quite huge ranging from somewhere around 50 to 100 Million. The Spanish Flu was responsible to reduce the population across the world by at least one-third. It is humongous. The estimated number of cases of the Spanish Flu was recorded somewhere around 500 Million. As there was no hold on going through such a huge amount of data, the epicenter of the Spanish flu is still a mystery.

This was the first kind of virus that resulted in the loss of millions of people across the globe resulting to term it as the most effective pandemic to date.