Influenza Pandemics

rnPrevious influenza pandemics resulted from cross-infection of humans with the avian influenza virus. In 1918, the most devastating pandemic, the infection resulted from a mutation in the virus; while the other two smaller ones Pandemics were caused by a rearrangement of the virus antigen. Pandemics are believed to occur decades after a change in the antigen. This change was noticed in the 1970s, so there is concern that there is a pending pandemic. The most well-known and well-documented influenza pandemic occurred in 1918, at the end of the First World War. This pandemic, called The Spanish Flu, was responsible for up to 50 million deaths worldwide, the majority from pneumonia. Having lost many lives in the war, the flu further decimated the world population. Due to the impact on the population and the economy, this pandemic is still being reviewed to understand what happened and how to prevent a similar pandemic. https://eandm3dprinting.com/ Influenza was less understood in the early 20th century than it is now. Diagnosis was delayed, and therefore treatment was suboptimal to contain the disease. Once it was recognized and the affected people were quarantined, the virus had already spread. The rapid rate of spread of this disease worldwide shows the high degree of virulence of this virus. This spread occurred despite the lack of mobility that exists today, which is a major concern for modern scientists. Although we have some protective measures with vaccines and antivirals, if the virus has mutated enough to be resistant to both vaccine and treatment, a pandemic would be difficult to control. Increased mobility in the air, on land and at sea will make it virtually impossible to control the spread of the virus once it takes hold.