Olivia Donaldson - Influenza

Published in 2015 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
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Copyright 2015 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC

First Edition

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Donaldson, Olivia, author.
Influenza / Olivia Donaldson.
pages cm. (Deadliest diseases of all time)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-50260-092-9 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-50260-093-6 (ebook)
1. InfluenzaHistoryJuvenile literature. 2. InfluenzaVaccinationHistoryJuvenile literature. I. Title.

RC150.D66 2015
614.518dc23

2014028912

Editor: Kristen Susienka
Senior Copy Editor: Wendy A. Reynolds
Art Director: Jeffrey Talbot
Senior Designer: Amy Greenan
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Production Editor: David McNamara
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The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of: Cover photo and page 1, SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images; Cover photo and page 1, BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Images; iStock.com/ RobertCrum, 4; Otis Historical Archives National Museum of Health & Medicine/File:Emergency hospital during Influenza epidemic, Camp Funston, Kansas - NCP 1603.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 8; Mondadori/Getty Images, 10; National Photo Company/File:1918 flu outbreak.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 15; Everett Collection, 20; Hulton Royals Collection/Getty Images, 22; Stock Montage/Archive Photos/Getty Images, 25; Interfoto/Sammlung Rauch/Mary Evans Picture Library, 28; Roger Harris/Science Photo Library/Getty Images, 30; Plik:Richard Pfeiffer.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 33; Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com, 39; Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 40; Hulton Archive/File:Louis Pasteur portrait photo.jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 44; kkgas/iStock/Thinkstock, 46; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, 49; Anadolu Agency/Getty Images, 50; Karen Kasmauski/Science Faction/Getty Images, 53; NIAID/File:HIV-infected T cell (6813384933).jpg/Wikimedia Commons, 54; John Moore/Getty Images, 57.

Printed in the United States of America

T here have been many diseases that have plagued humanity throughout time. One of the most deadly, and one still without a definite cure, is influenza. As recently as April 2009, a new strain of the flu was identified in Mexico that proved to be deadly for some of its younger victims. Named H1N1, it was also called swine flu because of its similarity to a strain of influenza from which pigs often suffer. This new flu strain would not stay limited to Mexico, however. It soon spread to the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world. By June 2009, it was so widespread that the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled it as a pandemicthe first influenza pandemic in more than a decade.

In the first twelve months of the H1N1 outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that more than sixty million people contracted the disease, with almost 275,000 being hospitalized and over 12,000 dying in the United States alone. One difficulty in dealing with H1N1 in 2009 was the shortage of an effective vaccine. Work began in earnest on one, and by the early fall one was available. However, the supply was limited, so those most susceptible to the fluthe very young and the very oldwere given priority. By November 2009, the number of vaccine doses had increased to more than 61 million, and eventually 80 million were vaccinated against H1N1. The effectiveness of the vaccine led to the WHO stating that the global H1N1 pandemic was over in August 2010. Thats not to say the disease has been eradicatedpeople still get swine flu each year, but the rate of infection has markedly decreased.

Just as outbreaks of influenza are not a new development, pandemics have also occurred over time. In fact, there have been four significant pandemics of the disease in the last 100 years. The firstand deadliestoccurred in 1918, and was inexorably linked to World War I. U.S. soldiers looking to help end the war in Europe instead helped spread a deadly strain of Spanish flu, one that would take more lives than the war itself. This deadly strain of influenza would not stay on the battlefields of Europe, either. The disease made its way back to major American cities, and killed more than 675,000 Americans. Many victims were between the ages of twenty and fifty. This made that particular strain of influenza so unusual, as flu tends to be deadly mostly for infants and the elderly. Not every death can be attributed directly to the flu itself, however. Many patients developed secondary problems such as pneumonia that can prove to be just as deadly.

Two additional flu pandemics hit the world in the late 1950s and late 1960s, but neither was as widespread or deadly as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. Some of this can be attributed to improved health care and better treatment for secondary ailments. The world not being embroiled in a global conflict was probably also a contributing factor.

To date, the most recent pandemic occurred in 2009. However, some researchers continue to warn that another global deadly pandemic is not only probable but also likely to happen. It would only take a current strain of influenza mutating, or being developed by other means, to bring about another widespread outbreak similar to the one in 1918.

A fter becoming involved in World War I in April 1917, the United States was asked in early 1918 by its allies to increase the number of soldiers it was sending to the European front lines. Germany was pushing back the French and English, and more troops were needed to save the war effort. American soldiers preparing for deployment at Camp Funston in Kansas were succumbing to a powerful strain of influenza. The disease led to some soldiers also getting pneumonia, and almost fifty died.