Spanish flu

The 1918 "Spanish flu" in Spain.

The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was the most devastating epidemic in modern history. Here, we review epidemiological and historical data about the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic in Spain. On 22 May 1918, the epidemic was a headline in Madrid's ABC newspaper. The infectious disease most likely reached Spain from France, perhaps as the result of the heavy railroad traffic of Spanish and Portuguese...

Recombination in the hemagglutinin gene of the 1918 "Spanish flu".

When gene sequences from the influenza virus that caused the 1918 pandemic were first compared with those of related viruses, they yielded few clues about its origins and virulence. Our reanalysis indicates that the hemagglutinin gene, a key virulence determinant, originated by recombination. The "globular domain" of the 1918 hemagglutinin protein was encoded by a part of a gene derived from a ...

The Spanish flu--Part I: the first wave.

The Spanish Flu is a term which denotes an influenza pandemic which emerged in 1918. This disease has numerous synonyms: the Spanish Flu, La Grippe espagnole, the Spanish Influenza and it is also possible to encounter throughout the world such names as the Spanish Lady or the Purple Death. The latter name resulted from the specific skin colour in the most severe cases of the diseased, who by th...

The Spanish Flu epidemic in Poland (1918-1919)

This article presents the most important issues surrounding the course of the Spanish Flu in Poland and the efforts and knowledge of professionals about the etiology of this dangerous disease during that time. It provides information about unsuccessful attempts to combat the flu in urban and rural areas and research on the disease in different scientific centers of the country. Hopefully, this ...

[Epidemics as a sociopolitical challenge: the Spanish flu in Bahia].