Influenza pandemics occur periodically. An influenza pandemic is indeed a rare but recurrent event. There have been three previous pandemics in our century: The Spanish influenza in 1918, the Asian influenza in 1957, and the Hong Kong influenza in 1968. The 1918 pandemic killed an estimated 50100 million people worldwide. That pandemic was the deadliest in human history. The others that followed were much milder, with an estimated 2 million deaths in 1957 and 1 million deaths in 1968. Laboratory and clinical evidence suggests the present day H5N1 Virus could be as dangerous as the 1918 strain. Question: What are the signs indicating that a pandemic could occur soon? Answer: There have been 10 pandemics in the past three centuries. The 1918-1920 Spanish Pandemic was the most deadly in human history killing 50 million to 100 million people. About 88 years before the 1918-1920 Spanish Influenza Pandemic the pandemic of 1830-1832 was as severe but it took place with a substantially lower n
Based on historical patterns, influenza pandemics can be expected to occur, on average, three to four times each century when new virus subtypes emerge and are readily transmitted from person to person. However, the occurrence of influenza pandemics is unpredictable, according to the World Health Organization. Experts agree that another influenza pandemic is inevitable and possibly imminent. Flu Pandemics During The 20th Century During the 20th century, the emergence of new influenza A virus subtypes caused three pandemics, all of which spread around the world within 1 year of being detected. 1918-19, “Spanish flu,” [A (H1N1)], caused the highest number of known influenza deaths: more than 500,000 people died in the United States, and up to 50 million people may have died worldwide. Many people died within the first few days after infection, and others died of complications later. Nearly half of those who died were young, healthy adults. Influenza A (H1N1) viruses still circulate today
