Flu, 1918 and 2009

There is some of the world concerned about the current H1N1 virus and whether or not it will become as serious as the 1918 pandemic. Regardless of the outcome of the H1N1 virus, there isn't a doubt that this is a new, potentially deadly strain, and is more infectious than other influenza strains against human immunity. One thing that will help protect our world today against the H1N1 pandemic is the use of vaccines. Vaccines are a way to build our immunity to the influenza virus without actually having the virus. This is something that the people of 1918 didn't have. If they would have had this protection against the virus in 1918 the pandemic would have had drastically different outcomes. It is important that we are aware of the outcome that we could be faced with if we don't take the appropriate precautions to avoid this infectious virus. The pandemic from the past is a good warning for us today. The CDC currently says that the H1N1 virus has hospitalized 26,315 and caused 1,049 deaths. It predicts that the outbreak of this disease will continue to infect even more people than it currently has. The 1918 flu pandemic spread to almost every part of the world. It is estimated that 1/3 of the population, or 500 million, were infected with the disease and that 50 to 100 million people were killed across the globe. That is ten percent of the population that was killed by the virus. It has been suggested that H1N1 is a viral descendant of the 1918 pandemic strain. Lets hope that we take the precautions needed so that this current pandemic won't reach the devastating level that was seen in 1918.