SPANISH FLU

SPANISH FLU

Subject : Science & tech

Context : In the beginning of COVID-19 last year, thousands of people around the world shared an image on social media depicting the three waves of the 1918 influenza pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish flu.

Concept :

• Spanish flu was caused by an H1N1 influenza virus
• There is no universal consensus regarding where the virus originated. It is believed that World War I was partly responsible for it’s spread.
• Spain was one of the earliest countries where the epidemic was identified, but historians believe this was likely a result of wartime censorship.
• Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press, which freely published early accounts of the illness. As a result, people falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain, and the name “Spanish flu” stuck.

H1N1 Virus

• H1N1 influenza virus causes Swine Flu.
• Swine Flu is an infection of the respiratory tract characterized by the usual symptoms of flu — cough, nasal secretions, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, and headache.
• It is called swine flu because it was known in the past to occur in people who had been in the vicinity of pigs.
• The virus is transmitted by short-distance airborne transmission, particularly in crowded enclosed spaces. Hand contamination and direct contact are other possible sources of transmission.