History suggests that influenza pandemics have probably happened during at least the last four centuries. Since 1900, three pandemics and several "pandemic threats" have occurred.
1918: Spanish Flu
The Spanish Influenza pandemic is the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured. It is estimated that approximately 20 to 40 percent of the worldwide population became ill and that over 50 million people died. Between September 1918 and April 1919, approximately 675,000 deaths from the flu occurred in the U.S. alone. Many people died from this very quickly. Some people who felt well in the morning became sick by noon, and were dead by nightfall. Those who did not succumb to the disease within the first few days often died of complications from the flu (such as pneumonia) caused by bacteria.
One of the most unusual aspects of the Spanish flu was its ability to kill young adults. The reasons for this remain uncertain. With the Spanish flu, mortality rates were high among healthy adults as well as the usual high-risk groups. The attack rate and mortality was highest among adults 20 to 50 years old. The severity of that virus has not been seen again.
1957: Asian Flu
In February 1957, the Asian influenza pandemic was first identified in the Far East. Immunity to this strain was rare in people less than 65 years of age, and a pandemic was predicted. In preparation, vaccine production began in late May 1957, and health officials increased surveillance for flu outbreaks.
Unlike the virus that caused the 1918 pandemic, the 1957 pandemic virus was quickly identified, due to advances in scientific technology. Vaccine was available in limited supply by August 1957. The virus came to the U.S. quietly, with a series of small outbreaks over the summer of 1957. When U.S. children went back to school in the fall, they spread the disease in classrooms and brought it home to their families. Infection rates were highest among school children, young adults, and pregnant women in October 1957. Most influenza-and pneumonia-related deaths occurred between September 1957 and March 1958. The elderly had the highest rates of death.
By December 1957, the worst seemed to be over. However, during January and February 1958, there was another wave of illness among the elderly. This is an example of the potential "second wave" of infections that can develop during a pandemic. The disease infects one group of people first, infections appear to decrease and then infections increase in a different part of the population. Although the Asian flu pandemic was not as devastating as the Spanish flu, about 69,800 people in the U.S. died.
1968: Hong Kong Flu
In early 1968, the Hong Kong influenza pandemic was first detected in Hong Kong. The first cases in the U.S. were detected as early as September of that year, but illness did not become widespread in the U.S. until December. Deaths from this virus peaked in December 1968 and January 1969. Those over the age of 65 were most likely to die. The same virus returned in 1970 and 1972. The number of deaths between September 1968 and March 1969 for this pandemic was 33,800, making it the mildest pandemic in the 20th century.
There could be several reasons why fewer people in the U.S. died due to this virus. First, the Hong Kong flu virus was similar in some ways to the Asian flu virus that circulated between 1957 and 1968. Earlier infections by the Asian flu virus might have provided some immunity against the Hong Kong flu virus that may have helped to reduce the severity of illness during the Hong Kong pandemic. Second, instead of peaking in September or October, like pandemic influenza had in the previous two pandemics, this pandemic did not gain momentum until near the school holidays in December. Since children were at home and did not infect one another at school, the rate of influenza illness among schoolchildren and their families declined. Third, improved medical care and antibiotics that are more effective for secondary bacterial infections were available for those who became ill.
1976: Swine Flu Threat
When a novel virus was first identified at Fort Dix, it was labeled the "killer flu." Experts were extremely concerned because the virus was thought to be related to the Spanish flu virus of 1918. The concern that a major pandemic could sweep across the world led to a mass vaccination campaign in the United States. In fact, the virus--later named "swine flu"--never moved outside the Fort Dix area. Research on the virus later showed that if it had spread, it would probably have been much less deadly than the Spanish flu.
1977: Russian Flu Threat
In May 1977, influenza A/H1N1 viruses isolated in northern China, spread rapidly, and caused epidemic disease in children and young adults (23 years) worldwide. The 1977 virus was similar to other A/H1N1 viruses that had circulated prior to 1957. (In 1957, the A/H1N1 virus was replaced by the new A/H2N2 viruses). Because of the timing of the appearance of these viruses, persons born before 1957 were likely to have been exposed to A/H1N1 viruses and to have developed immunity against A/H1N1 viruses. Therefore, when the A/H1N1 reappeared in 1977, many people over the age of 23 had some protection against the virus and it was primarily younger people who became ill from A/H1N1 infections. By January 1978, the virus had spread around the world, including the United States. Because illness occurred primarily in children, this event was not considered a true pandemic. Vaccine containing this virus was not produced in time for the 1977-78 season, but the virus was included in the 1978-79 vaccine.
1997: Avian Flu Threat
The most recent pandemic "threats" occurred in 1997 and 1999. In 1997, at least a few hundred people became infected with the avian A/H5N1 flu virus in Hong Kong and 18 people were hospitalized. Six of the hospitalized persons died. This virus was different because it moved directly from chickens to people, rather than having been altered by infecting pigs as an intermediate host. In addition, many of the most severe illnesses occurred in young adults similar to illnesses caused by the 1918 Spanish flu virus. To prevent the spread of this virus, all chickens (approximately 1.5 million) in Hong Kong were slaughtered. The avian flu did not easily spread from one person to another, and after the poultry slaughter, no new human infections were found.
In 1999, another novel avian flu virus - A/H9N2 - was found that caused illnesses in two children in Hong Kong. Although both of these viruses have not gone on to start pandemics, their continued presence in birds, their ability to infect humans, and the ability of influenza viruses to change and become more transmissible among people is an ongoing concern.
Colorado State Summit
Opening Remarks Prepared for Delivery
By the Honorable Mike Leavitt
Secretary of Health and Human Services
March 24, 2006
The Great Pandemic also touched Colorado.
It first appeared in late September 1918, when some 33 suspected cases were reported at the University of Colorado. It raged across the state through the month of October, sickening those in the valleys, and bringing down residents of high mountain towns.
More than 150 people died in a single week here in Denver. Thousands were afflicted (though actual numbers are unknown).
One of those was Katherine Porter, who would later earn fame and acclaim (including a Pulitzer Prize) for her short stories. One of her best-known works was Pale Horse, Pale Rider, a fictionalized account of her experience in the pandemic.
Porter contracted influenza while working as a journalist for the Rocky Mountain News. She could not be admitted to the hospital at first, because there was no room. Instead, she was threatened with eviction by her landlady and then cared for by an unknown boarder who nursed her until a bed was open at the hospital.
Porter was so sick that her newspaper colleagues prepared an obituary and her father chose a burial plot. Her near-death experience changed Porter in a profound way. She said afterward, "It just simply divided my life, cut across it like that. So that everything before that was just getting ready, and after that I was in some strange way altered."
The lives of countless other Coloradoans were also altered.
Residents of Boulder experienced a quarantine. So did all of those living in the entire San Juan Basin (in the southwest corner of the state). All gatherings were cancelled, including schools, sporting events, and social outings. Voters and judges alike were required to wear surgical masks during the November election. People were even prohibited to gather for funerals.
The city of Silverton (located just north of Durango) lost nearly 10 percent of its population, including morticians. Coffins had to be sent from Durango to accommodate the large numbers of the dead.
The pandemic finally faded, leaving echoes of terror and suffering and loss all across the state.
When it comes to pandemics, there is no rational basis to believe that the early years of the 21st century will be different than the past. If a pandemic strikes, it will come to Colorado.
New Mexico State Summit
Opening Remarks Prepared for Delivery
By the Honorable Mike Leavitt
Secretary of Health and Human Services
March 28, 2006
That Great Pandemic also touched New Mexico.
No one is sure when the pandemic first arrived, though it may have been carried into Carlsbad (southeast corner of the state) by members of an out-of-own circus. On October 4th, there were reports of "a few cases" in "several places." A week later, epidemics were reported in Albuquerque, Gallup (west of Albuquerque), and Carlsbad. And the pandemic continued to spread.
In some cases, Smith and Wesson and Colt stood in the way. Fearing introduction of the disease, armed vigilantes from across the state stopped trains from flu-ridden regions and forced passengers to get back aboard and return from where they came.
Those fears were well founded. The flu was afflicting thousands of New Mexicans, and claiming the lives of hundreds.
But on one occasion, fear proved more fatal than the flu itself.
A Las Vegas (east of Santa Fe) family, the Gardunos, all fell ill with influenza. Mrs. Clara Garduno succumbed to the disease first, and was soon pronounced dead. Health Department officials demanded that she be buried immediately to prevent the spread of the disease, and her husband secured the services of an undertaker.
Because three of her children were also very ill at the time of her death and not expected to survive, Clara's grave was left uncovered to allow prompt burial of the children as soon as they too perished. Two of the children died the next day, and as the undertaker began to bury the children, Frank Garduno asked to see his wife's body one last time.
To his horror, he discovered that his wife had not been dead at the time she was buried after all. In his fear and haste to bury influenza victims, the doctor who had pronounced Clara dead had been mistaken. She had been buried alive, only to suffocate in her coffin.
When it comes to pandemics, there is no rational basis to believe that the early years of the 21st century will be different than the past. If a pandemic strikes, it will come to New Mexico.
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