The Spanish Flu pandemic killed more people than COVID-19, but more recent strains of the flu have proven to be much less deadly.
You have the chills, a cough, a sore throat, a fever, a stuffy nose, and your body aches all over. Naturally, you wonder if you have COVID-19, and make arrangements to get yourself tested. Most years when fall and winter roll around you cross your fingers that you won’t get the flu. This year, however, you find yourself actually hoping that you might have it. Are you misguided in wishing you have the flu over the coronavirus? Statistics show you are not. Today, COVID-19 is actually much worse than influenza.
Related: Selling Plasma During the Pandemic: A Good Thing?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the 2018-2019 flu season about 34,000 people died from influenza in the US. This number actually fluctuates quite a bit from year to year, and reached a nine-year peak of about 61,099 deaths in 2017-2018. But since 2010, the estimated number of flu-related deaths has never topped this in America.
Right now, in contrast, well over 200,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the country. This is in less than ten months. Of course, we still have a couple of months to go until next January, which will mark a year since the coronavirus first appeared on American soil. What will be the tally then? This is a dark reality to imagine. Currently hundreds of people are dying from the virus every day in the nation. Information on Johns Hopkins website indicates that medical authorities believe COVID-19 is likely about ten times more deadly than most strains of the seasonal flu.
The Pandemic of 1918
But wasn’t the Spanish flu of 1918 horrendous? Yes, it was. But different strains of the flu arise each season, and when looking at the bouts of influenza we have had circulating the globe in recent years, the novel coronavirus is proving to be more deadly.
The Spanish flu considered on its own was much worse than COVID-19. Reports indicate this illness first surfaced on the battlefields of World War I. This virulent disease soon spread around the globe in a matter of mere months. The Spanish flu was so deadly it actually killed more US soldiers than died in conflict throughout the war. The average life expectancy in the US dove by 12 years in just 365 days in 1918.
Related: Top 10 Activities to Stay Calm Indoors
What made this flu so powerful? In 2008, researchers discovered the answer to this question. Three genes were responsible for making the Spanish flu so terrible. These genes weakened patients’ lungs and bronchial tubes and opened the floodgates for bacterial pneumonia to take hold. And this flu was also sneaky. The first wave of the Spanish flu came in the spring of 1918 and it was mild, with low death rates. The second wave in the fall was a nightmare, however. Reports indicate that otherwise healthy young people died, and some within hours of falling sick. Victims’ lungs filled with liquid and they suffocated.
The Role of Aspirin
So, this reality was undoubtedly worse than the coronavirus pandemic we are currently facing. It remains unclear, however, whether all of the American flu deaths in the fall of 1918 were caused exclusively by… the flu. The U.S. Surgeon General and other health authorities at the time encouraged patients to take 30 grams of aspirin per day to help fight their illness. Unfortunately, it is now known that even just four grams of aspirin can be unsafe to ingest, let alone tens of grams. Patients who have ingested toxic amounts of aspirin experience a build up of fluid in the lungs and hyperventilation. Surely many Spanish flu victims made their condition worse by taking too much of this medication and many likely died as a result.
Related: This is Why Kids Should Avoid Going Gluten-Free
So, there we have it. Both the flu and COVID-19 can turn deadly. The fact that the novel coronavirus is deadlier than most current strains of influenza makes it worse in modern times, in comparison, however. Both illnesses present lessons to be learned and puzzles for scientists to unravel as we move forward in the field of human medicine.
photo credits: CROCOTHERY/Shutterstock.com
