A patient wearing a flu mask during the flu epidemic which followed the First World War. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

(Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Apr 11 2019

Interesting article and some important warnings including the risk of multiple waves of infections and levels of severity. Here is a summary or if you have time it worth the read.

The Spanish flu pandemic like Covid-19 was novel and many more were killed than from existing flu strains. The biggest differences were back then the isolation orders didn’t extent to non essential businesses, there was not universal healthcare and the healthcare systems around the world didn’t share info and resources as they do now. It estimated that one third of the world’s population was infected and 50 to 100 Million deaths.

People also need to know that beyond the battlefield, the Spanish flu hit the world in three waves.

The first, in spring of 1918, was generally mild and resulted in few deaths, The second, in the fall, was highly contagious and arrived with a vengeance. It led to death within just a few days, sometimes within hours, of someone showing symptoms.

The third wave occurred during the winter and into the spring of 1919, and was more lethal than the first, but less so than the second.

So it looks like were in this for the long haul unless a vaccine is created and tested to be safe in less time than normal.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/spanish-flu-covid-coronavirus-canada-manitoba-1.5523410