Swine Flu 1918 | Epidemic, Pandemic, and Outbreak of Swine Flu 1918

The year 1918 was memorable in so many ways. For one, it was in November of that year when World War I ended, thus signifying a chance of hope and peace for the troubled areas of Central and Western Europe. In another front, the year also posed a challenge for mankind because of the swine flu 1918 outbreak that was the first recorded outbreak of the disease anywhere in the world.

The swine flu of 1918 was also remarkable in the sense that the outbreak was associated with the appearance of the h1n1 strain which indicates transmission either from humans to pigs or from pigs to humans.

Swine Flu Pandemic of 1918

Making the 1918 swine flu pandemic even more remarkable is the fact that its origins remain largely unknown due to the uncertainty of the origin of the virus. Compounding matters is the fact that the recently concluded war tended to overshadow the impact of the disease on population that was untouched by the war.

Even so, resources remained split: most of the affluent countries poured in their efforts to the war and the rest were left to grope for possible treatment for the swine flu 1918 outbreak.

Indeed, the 1918 swine flu epidemic was a jolt to every nation of the world. Even those unaffected by the epidemic cringed at the thought that so deadly a virus can kill so many in so short a period of time.

in the end, an estimated 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide was tallied as casualties for the swine flu 1918 outbreak.

Swine Flu Outbreak of 1918

Because the swine flu 1918 outbreak was the first on record, efforts were exhausted in trying to determine the possible origins of the disease. While the virus affected pigs, it is known that the virus could have not come from pigs themselves. Because of the effect of war at that time, efforts in determining the exact origins of the disease remains elusive. However, some research suggests that the swine flu 1918 outbreak may not have originally come from pigs themselves; rather, researches suggests that the virus which caused swine flu may have come from humans. Given the fact that there was an outbreak of influenza among humans, this hypothesis is given lots of credit. Only after this massive influenza outbreak in humans did swine flu came to the fore, thus providing added credence to the belief that the swine flu 1918 outbreak originated in humans.

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