Past Pandemics

I recently watched an interesting documentary on YouTube about the 1918 Spanish flu. It gives a chilling account of the worst pandemic in modern history. It infected about one-third of the world's population and caused 50 million deaths. In the United States, it killed an estimated 675,000 people out of a population of 105 million. Today the US population is three times larger, but we now have a better understanding about how a virus spreads. Back in 1918 the first world war was going on and that played a big part in how fast the virus spread throughout the world. Newsreel footage shows people wearing masks and cities in lockdown, a similar response to what we are seeing now with the current COVID-19 outbreak.

One of my earliest childhood memories is being in bed with the flu. It was around 1968 when the H3N2 influenza virus emerged, resulting in roughly 100,000 deaths in the US. I still remember the fever it caused and how long it took to feel normal again. I've had the flu several times since then, but that was one of the worst. The respiratory symptoms of the current virus are reason enough to stay home. I expect that with all of the people staying home, there will be a baby boom in December. Once the pandemic has subsided, there is a risk that it will mutate and restart, just as it did several times in 1918. Scientists today are mapping the virus genome and have already discovered mutations. This doesn't mean the next wave will be worse, just that we will not be able to let our guard down for a while. Some of us I'm sure will be afraid to come in contact with other people and will be avoiding crowds long after the danger has past.