How long did the Spanish influenza last for?

With the world still secured the grip of the coronavirus pandemic and no end in sight, many individuals are relying on the past in an effort to piece together some sort of understanding of the existing environment.

The Spanish influenza pandemic, which struck simply over 100 years earlier throughout the First World War, was the most dangerous in history, declaring the lives of countless individuals throughout the world.

It isn’t clear where the infection stemmed from, however the very first recognized case was tape-recorded in the United States, not Spain. Instead, it ended up being called the ‘Spanish flu’ since Spain was especially severely struck by it, and had the ability to report more easily on the infection than other nations since it was neutral in WWI.

One location where the Spanish influenza varied tremendously to Covid-19 is that it was lethal to both old and youths, consisting of kids under the age of 5 and healthy grownups in between 20 and 40 years of ages.

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How long did the Spanish flu last?

The first official case of Spanish flu was recorded in Kansas on March 11, 1918 and the virus quickly spread across the world.

It’s likely that it was carried across borders by soldiers who were, of course, engaged in WWI at the time.

The pandemic raged on throughout 1918 and well into 1919, though some reports say it continued into 1920.

How many people died of the Spanish flu?

The Spanish flu was the deadliest pandemic in history and, though accounts differ, it is estimated to have killed between 20 and 50 million people.

Around 500 million people – roughly a third of the world’s population – are believed to have been infected by the virus.

Was there a second wave of the Spanish flu?

The virus struck in three waves. The initial outbreak happened through April and May, then the second wave started in August and continued until December, and the third wave hit in January 1919.

With no vaccine to fight the Spanish flu and no antibiotics to help treat any secondary infections, methods of fighting the disease and controlling infection rates were limited to basic measures like isolation, quarantining, closing schools and theatres, limiting public gatherings, and encouraging good hygiene – all of which are being employed today.

How did the Spanish flu end?

There was no definitive end to the Spanish flu pandemic. Instead, over time people started developing an immunity to the virus, which itself mutated into a less deadly form.

Have there been other 20th century flu pandemics?

The Spanish flu was the deadliest flu pandemic of the 20th century, but there have been others. The Asian flu pandemic lasted from 1956-57 and the Hong Kong flu followed a decade later, in 1968.

Both are estimated to have killed between a million and four million people.

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