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05/1/09
A Visual History of Flu Pandemics
So much is being said about the recent Swine Flu outbreak and it’s potential dangers. While the world is panicking and running for cover, some are taking a second look at Swine Flu. We will explore the history of flu pandemics the perceived dangers of Swine Flu are greatly changed.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_pandemic
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Flu/Research/Pandemic/TimelineHumanPandemics.htm
- Timelines
View the above WHO timeline to see the progression and major activity of H5N1 in both animals and humans since 1996.
- Timeline of Human Flu Pandemics (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
See a chronology of significant dates in pandemic influenza history.
- 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic
- The Great Pandemic: The United States in 1918-1919
Learn about the 1918 pandemic, along with the Nation’s health and medical system and how they were affected. Meet some people who fought the 1918 Influenza in the United States. - Pandemic Influenza Storybook
Personal recollections of prior influenza pandemics, told by survivors, families, and friends. - The Deadly Virus: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 (National Archives and Records Administration)
View archival documents and photos from the era of the Great Pandemic of 1918.
- The Great Pandemic of 1918: State by State
Read stories and anecdotes of the impact of the Great Pandemic in individual states. - Experts Say Further Review of 1918 Pandemic Studies Key to Influenza Preparedness (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Read why researchers are looking to the 1918 influenza pandemic to help further preparedness efforts today. These workshop proceedings provide a historical retrospective review of the impact of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic. A panel of experts discuss how the 1918–1919 pandemic affected daily life in the United States, and what lessons can be learned and applied to planning today.
- The American Experience, Influenza 1918 (Public Broadcasting Service)
Read the history of “the worst epidemic the U.S. has ever known”
- Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy (Navy Department Library)
Read stories about Navy medical professionals fighting the 1918 influenza pandemic.
- The Great Pandemic: The United States in 1918-1919
- Other Influenza Pandemics
- Swine Influenza A Outbreak, Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1976 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Find out how the Swine Influenza A Outbreak affected the health of the Fort Dix soldiers in 1976.
- The Swine Flu Episode and the Fog of Epidemics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Read about the lessons learned from previous epidemics.
- Pandemics and Pandemic Threats since 1900
Learn about the three pandemics and several “pandemic threats” that have occurred. - Pandemic Influenza Storybook
Personal recollections of prior influenza pandemics, told by survivors, families, and friends. - Influenza Pandemics of the 20th Century (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Pandemics with changes in hemagglutinin subtypes arise from genetic reassortment with animal influenza A viruses.
Normand Robert
6 months ago
According to various sources, the Spanish flu did not come from Spain. An early spike in cases was in America and the disease may have come from Asia. Reporting in the press was more frequent than in other countries because Spain at the time was not at war and not subject to censorship rules.
From CDC "http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol12no01/05-0979.htm
"Historical and epidemiologic data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus (21), and recent phylogenetic analysis of the 1918 viral genome does not place the virus in any geographic context (19).
Grant Smith
6 months ago
Thank you for this great visual information graphic!
Dwight
6 months ago
"Spanish flu" did NOT come from Spain.
Try better next time.
Joe
6 months ago
swine flu killed 1 million?
wha?
Jim
6 months ago
As of this morning, the CDC is reporting a total of 25 confirmed deaths in Mexico and 1 confirmed death in the United States due to swine flu. This graph indicates 1 million?
Wow. The creator of this graph must be an affiliate of FOX News.
Sanguinity
6 months ago
What a useless chart. Even after accounting for the typo, it doesn't make any sense to compare the first few weeks of this pandemic to the final totals from past pandemics. If you're going to make a comparison, then compare the first few weeks of this one to the first few weeks of the others.
Reality
6 months ago
This chart is shoddy and highly inaccurate
kms
6 months ago
From your own cited source (CDC: Influenza Pandemics of the 20th century):
Three WORLDWIDE (PANDEMIC) outbreaks of influenza occurred in the 20th century: in 1918, 1957, and 1968. The latter 2 were in the era of modern virology and most thoroughly characterized. All 3 have been informally identified by their presumed sites of origin as Spanish, Asian, and Hong Kong influenza, respectively. They are now known to represent 3 different antigenic subtypes of influenza A virus: H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2, respectively. NOT classified as true pandemics are 3 NOTABLE EPIDEMICS: a pseudopandemic in 1947 with low death rates, an epidemic in 1977 that was a pandemic in children, and an abortive epidemic of swine influenza in 1976 that was feared to have pandemic potential. Major influenza epidemics show no predictable periodicity or pattern, and all differ from one another. Evidence suggests that true pandemics with changes in hemagglutinin subtypes arise from genetic reassortment with animal influenza A viruses.
kms
6 months ago
Definition of pandemic: occurring over a WIDE GEOGRAPHIC AREA and affecting an EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION (from Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary)
1) The above poster is correct that "Spanish" influenza is likely to actually have arisen in the USA (or possibly China) and travelled with military personel to Spain, where it was first widely reported.
2) As well as the mistakes mentioned above, the only PANDEMICS were in 1889, 1918, 1957 and 1968 (and now in 2009). The remainder of these events were local EPIDEMICS. Calculating a mortality rate by using "x deaths" per the WORLD population for these events yields a misleading and inaccurate number. These should all be removed from the map entirely.
Please remember to take all internet resources with a grain of salt, unless from a reputable source (directly from CDC, etc.)
steven
6 months ago
The bird flu and the swine flu are just media hype. How do you even compare 200 deaths to 50 million on the same article?
campaign intelligence
6 months ago
Why do I see red rash or is it chicken pox
Paul Songer
6 months ago
Brilliant. This really does put the nonsense into perspective. I will show this to my very frightened 8 year old. the media should be more responsible.
meta search engine
6 months ago
Wow, this really makes the Swine Flu look like nothing. Thanks media for blowing this wayyy out of proportion.
linkz me
5 months ago
And notice that it killed the EXACT same number of people as the bird flu scare of 1997. Coincidence? You be the judge!
r bobby
5 months ago
Wow, this really makes the Swine Flu look like nothing. Thanks media for blowing this wayyy out of proportion.
yachting
5 months ago
the pandemic is often attributed to the piles of rotting corpses hanging around all over Europe at the time
avi
5 months ago
I don't think this chart and information is accurate. But, Inspite of that it gives me good information about Swine Flu (As I am not aware about it, first read here).
zane
5 months ago
I keep wondering where that 36,000 a year statistic comes from
Hai
1 month ago
36K death stats based on 1990-1999 data, study here:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/289/2/179