Answer to Question #116553 in Microbiology for Namakau

Question

Make a brief report of any five flu Pandemics that have occurred globally

Answer 1

The Spanish flu pandemic, from 1918 to 1920, claimed 100 million lives. It was the most severe pandemic in history. The Black Death was fatal for more than 75 million people in 14^th century.

Some pandemics which have occurred throughout history include:

541-542: Plague of Justinian

1346-1350: The Black Death

1899-1923: Sixth cholera pandemic

1918-1920: Spanish flu

1957-1958: Asian flu

1968-1969: Hong Kong flu

2009-2010: Swine flu (H1N1)

2020: COVID-19

Annual flu epidemics kill 250,000-500,000 people each year and cause severe illness in 3 million to 5 million people. But, new strains that jump from animals to humans can be even more devastating if the global population has no immunity to the virus.

1918-1920: ‘Spanish flu’

The most devastating flu pandemic in recent history was caused by a strain of H1N1 influenza killed 20 million to 50 million people worldwide. This pandemic spread in three simultaneous waves through Europe, Asia and North America. The virus was especially lethal in young adults. Origins of the virus are still unknown.

1957-58: ‘Asian flu’

First identified in China, this H2N2 virus caused around 2 million deaths worldwide. The virus is thought to have emerged after a human form of H2N2 combined with a mutant strain in ducks. This strain has not circulated in humans since 1968, so, much of the global population has no immunity to the strain. Most of those who died were elderly.

1968-69: ‘Hong Kong flu’

 This pandemic was first detected in Hong Kong. The H3N2 virus killed nearly 1 million people globally, with those over 65 most vulnerable H3N2 viruses still circulate today.

1997: ‘Bird flu’

For the first time, an influenza virus was found to spread directly from birds to people. The H5N1 bird flu infections were linked to poultry markets. First outbreak in Hong Kong killed six of 18 infected people. The WHO has recorded 598 cases since 2003, with 352 deaths. Most deaths from bird flu were in Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam & China. This virus has not adapted to spread easily between humans.

2009-10: ‘Swine flu’

One of the new strains was the H1N1 ‘swine flu’ virus which originated in Mexico in 2009. The virus was a combination of a Eurasian swine flu virus with another strain that was itself a mix of bird, swine and human flu virus. The strain went on to kill more than 18,000 people around the world.

Lastly, the coronavirus outbreak came to light on December 31 in 2019, when China informed the WHO of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of an unknown cause in Wuhan City in Hubei Province. Subsequently the disease spread to more provinces in China and then to the rest of the world. The WHO has declared it a pandemic. This virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease is called COVID-19 which has claimed many lives globally.