Influenza Flashcards
When did the Spanish Flu begin?
1918
How many victims?
30-60 million
How many Americans does influenza kill every year?
40 000
How many genes does the virus have?
8
How often do mutations create a supervirus?
every 30 years
Symptoms at beginning and before death
aches, pains
drowning in bodily fluids, cyanosis
Who is John Oxford?
a virologist who researched the origin of influenza at Etaples, France
Who is Jeffery Taubenberger?
a molecular pathologist who works for the US Armed Forces Lab in Washington DC and is trying to crack the genetic code of influenza
What happened in Cape Fungston, Kansas?
- on March 11th, 1918, 100 soldiers fell ill during training
- complained of headaches and sore throat
- a week later, there were 522 cases
- raw individuals - not exposed to urban diseases before
- 48 died of the first wave of influenza, thought to be pneumonia
- Robert Brown believed in this American origin
How many Americans crossed Atlantic in March, how many followed in April?
80 000, 120 000
Who was Manchester’s medical officer and what were his past contributions?
James Niven rid the city of tuberculosis, cutting the death rate in half
How did the disease travel through Britain?
followed railways, beginning at seaports, moving to London, then spreading to neighbouring cities
Who was Mary Moore?
she tracked the disease’s progress
Who was most susceptible and why (theory)?
young adults and children were most susceptible
- Jeffery Taubenberger believes that the virus circulated in the 1800s, allowing people to build up immunity
How many recruits were hit by the flu?
200 000
