Читать книгу Spanish Flu vs Covid-19, which is the worst pandemic? - Farzana Prior - Страница 5

At the time of writing this book we are all being affected, in some way or another, by the Covid-19 global health crisis. Just over a hundred years ago there was another global health crisis, in the form of the Spanish Flu. There is a lot we can learn from that crisis to help us in dealing effectively with this crisis, and with future crises.

The Spanish Flu arose towards the end of World War 1, adding to the confusion and fear of the time. The fact that the Allied Forces won World War 1, in spite of the Spanish Flu, also pushed Germany into political uncertainty, and catapulted the globe to a devastating future Second World War (World War 2). Pandemics don’t only create economic unrest, but also political and social unrest.

The Spanish Flu infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands. As devastating as Covid-19 is, the Spanish Flu pandemic remains the worst in modern history. Between 1918 and 1919 there were three waves of Spanish Flu that swept across the globe, with World War 1 being instrumental in helping to spread the virus. While World War 1 resulted in twenty million people dying, the Spanish Flu was responsible for the deaths of fifty million people.

In 1918, the scientific world didn’t even know that the Spanish Flu was a virus. They understood that it was spread person-to-person and through respiratory droplets, but they didn’t have powerful enough microscopes to detect viruses. Viruses were only discovered in the 1930’s.

The Spanish Flu was more infectious than Covid-19 because the symptoms appeared quickly, and the virus was more deadly. In addition, while Covid-19 targeted the elderly and sick, the Spanish Flu targeted the young and healthy.