Why was the “Spanish flu” of 1918-19 so deadly?
The Spanish influenza virus of 1918-1919 had a much higher mortality than the influenza viruses from the other most recent influenza pandemics of 1957 and 1968, but it is not clear why this was the case. There may have been differences in the natural strength of the virus, causing people to become quite sick, or it may have been because of poorer living conditions in 1918. People in 1918 were also less well nourished than today, and did not have access to the same health services and medications we have today. It may be a combination of all these things that caused the influenza virus in 1918-1919 to be so serious. At the moment we do not know enough about the H1N1 Influenza 09 virus to be able to predict its eventual impact; however the information that many of the cases overseas have had only mild illnesses is encouraging.
