The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History

Gregory Tsoucalas; Antonios Kousoulis; Markos Sgantzos

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History

Gregory Tsoucalas, Antonios Kousoulis, Markos Sgantzos

Published in European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 4)

Received: 14 September 2016 Accepted: 12 October 2016 Published: 28 October 2016

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Abstract

It was the year 1918, when a new flu pandemic launched worldwide. Our study purports to depict the general icon of the 1918 pandemic epoch, for the readers to shape an overview of the events of the era. We have used some of the most important manuscripts concerning the pandemic to compose a historical note on the outbreak that almost annihilated the world. The name “Spanish Flu”, was defined wrongfully due to the scientific observation and research made in Spain, while the first appearance of the virus had been made in USA. The outbreak was devastating, causing millions to die, more than the First World War casualties. During new experiments upon the old virus strain, it was proved that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A - subtype H1N1 progenitor strain. Our mini review, enlightens some aspects of virus blast, in an effort for the readers to luxuriate in the tale, myths, and the true story of the 1918 pandemic.

Published in	European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11
Page(s)	23-28
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

1918, Spanish Flu, Influenza A, H1N1, Pandemic, History of Medicine

References

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[12]	Tsoucalas G, Karachaliou F, Kalogirou V, Gatos G, Mavrogiannaki E, Antoniou A, Gatos K. The first announcement about the 1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic in Greece through the writings of the pioneer newspaper “Thessalia” almost a century ago. Infez Med. 2015; 23(1): 79-82.
[13]	Duncan K. Hunting the 1918 Flu: One Scientist's Search for a Killer Virus. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2003.
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[20]	Pandemics and Pandemic Threats since 1900. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history, Accessed 8/12/2013.
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[28]	Crosby AW. America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003.

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APA Style

Gregory Tsoucalas, Antonios Kousoulis, Markos Sgantzos. (2016). The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, 2(4), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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ACS Style

Gregory Tsoucalas; Antonios Kousoulis; Markos Sgantzos. The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. Eur. J. Clin. Biomed. Sci. 2016, 2(4), 23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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AMA Style

Gregory Tsoucalas, Antonios Kousoulis, Markos Sgantzos. The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. Eur J Clin Biomed Sci. 2016;2(4):23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11,
  author = {Gregory Tsoucalas and Antonios Kousoulis and Markos Sgantzos},
  title = {The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History},
  journal = {European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {23-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  abstract = {It was the year 1918, when a new flu pandemic launched worldwide. Our study purports to depict the general icon of the 1918 pandemic epoch, for the readers to shape an overview of the events of the era. We have used some of the most important manuscripts concerning the pandemic to compose a historical note on the outbreak that almost annihilated the world. The name “Spanish Flu”, was defined wrongfully due to the scientific observation and research made in Spain, while the first appearance of the virus had been made in USA. The outbreak was devastating, causing millions to die, more than the First World War casualties. During new experiments upon the old virus strain, it was proved that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A - subtype H1N1 progenitor strain. Our mini review, enlightens some aspects of virus blast, in an effort for the readers to luxuriate in the tale, myths, and the true story of the 1918 pandemic.},
 year = {2016}
}

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AU  - Gregory Tsoucalas
AU  - Antonios Kousoulis
AU  - Markos Sgantzos
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Author Information

Gregory Tsoucalas

History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
Antonios Kousoulis

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London, UK
Markos Sgantzos

History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Gregory Tsoucalas, Antonios Kousoulis, Markos Sgantzos. (2016). The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, 2(4), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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ACS Style

Gregory Tsoucalas; Antonios Kousoulis; Markos Sgantzos. The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. Eur. J. Clin. Biomed. Sci. 2016, 2(4), 23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

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AMA Style

Gregory Tsoucalas, Antonios Kousoulis, Markos Sgantzos. The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. Eur J Clin Biomed Sci. 2016;2(4):23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11,
  author = {Gregory Tsoucalas and Antonios Kousoulis and Markos Sgantzos},
  title = {The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History},
  journal = {European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {23-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejcbs.20160204.11},
  abstract = {It was the year 1918, when a new flu pandemic launched worldwide. Our study purports to depict the general icon of the 1918 pandemic epoch, for the readers to shape an overview of the events of the era. We have used some of the most important manuscripts concerning the pandemic to compose a historical note on the outbreak that almost annihilated the world. The name “Spanish Flu”, was defined wrongfully due to the scientific observation and research made in Spain, while the first appearance of the virus had been made in USA. The outbreak was devastating, causing millions to die, more than the First World War casualties. During new experiments upon the old virus strain, it was proved that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A - subtype H1N1 progenitor strain. Our mini review, enlightens some aspects of virus blast, in an effort for the readers to luxuriate in the tale, myths, and the true story of the 1918 pandemic.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History
AU  - Gregory Tsoucalas
AU  - Antonios Kousoulis
AU  - Markos Sgantzos
Y1  - 2016/10/28
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11
T2  - European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences
JF  - European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences
JO  - European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences
SP  - 23
EP  - 28
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5005
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20160204.11
AB  - It was the year 1918, when a new flu pandemic launched worldwide. Our study purports to depict the general icon of the 1918 pandemic epoch, for the readers to shape an overview of the events of the era. We have used some of the most important manuscripts concerning the pandemic to compose a historical note on the outbreak that almost annihilated the world. The name “Spanish Flu”, was defined wrongfully due to the scientific observation and research made in Spain, while the first appearance of the virus had been made in USA. The outbreak was devastating, causing millions to die, more than the First World War casualties. During new experiments upon the old virus strain, it was proved that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A - subtype H1N1 progenitor strain. Our mini review, enlightens some aspects of virus blast, in an effort for the readers to luxuriate in the tale, myths, and the true story of the 1918 pandemic.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download