The pandemic strain that took place in 1918 is actually the ancestor of today’s H1N1 flu or, otherwise said “swine flu”. There have been certain mutations within the virus responsible for the swine flu therefore the regular flu shot may no longer be effective in this case, leaving us with no vaccine to protect our health from the swine flu. This situation generated chaos all over the planet because people were afraid they would die.
What is swine flu? It is a transmissible respiratory disorder triggered by an influenza virus of the type-A which is affecting pigs. However, the new strain, called A-H1N1 is actually a different version of the H1N1 virus and it affects humans. Genetically speaking, the current swine flu also comprises certain features that are characteristic to pig and bird variants, in addition to the human genetic component. What is very surprising is that this swine flu is new, never encountered in humans or animals.
After prolonged studies, scientists came to the conclusion that the flu pandemic in 1918 was not caused by the flu in itself. It seems that the “guilty” party which murdered tens of millions of people was actually a streptococcus pneumoniae infection. In this case, a bacterial agent “superinfected” those who already suffered from influenza. In conclusion, Streptococcus pneumoniae was to blame for the problems in 1918.
This pathogenic bacterium triggers pneumococcal infections that could affect both adults and children all over the globe. The upper part of the respiratory tract is infected in this case and can generate complications such as pneumonia, but it can also cause meningitis (infection in the spinal cord or brain), bacteremia (infection of the bloodstream), arthritis (infection affecting the joints), sinusitis (the sinuses are affected) or otitis media (infection of the ears).
Anyway, the conclusion of the specialists was that another pandemic caused by the streptococcus pneumoniae could no longer be as terrible as it was in 1918 due to the fact that it can be treated easier than the flu, not to mention that now we have at our disposal modern medical solutions.
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