1918: deadliest disease event ever
The most deadly disease event in human history was the1918-19 flu pandemic, which hit a world population exhausted by the First World War.
This flu pandemic killed over 40 million people. The majority of those who died were healthy young men and women in their mid teens to early thirties. That was the last time the world had seen a flu virus that targets those in the prime of life - until today. The latest bird flu - H5N1 - has worrying similarities to the 1918 bug.
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Over 40 million people died during the 1918 flu pandemic. Many more were seriously ill.
Image: Nat. Mus. of Health & Med. USA |
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