In the United Kingdom, as elsewhere, sufferers and their doctors were hard put to explain the visitation and resorted to analogies with physical or bacteriological phenomena, or recalled older beliefs in extra-terrestrial forces. The outcomes were more disturbing than was appreciated at the time, or since. The Russian influenza and its sequela might well have had a crucial part in creating the 'spirit of the 1890s'. Four major influenza epidemics were recorded between 1830 and 1848. The 1830-1831 epidemic may have originated in China; then and in 1833 influenza advanced westward out of Russia into Europe. In 1836-1837, influenza diffusion was largely north to south, and in 1847-1848 the disease swept through the Mediterranean to southern France and thence elsewhere in Western Europe. Each of the four epidemics spread rapidly and caused very high morbidity rates. Although case-mortality rates were always low, each epidemic killed thousands of people, with most deaths being among the elderly. Many previous writers have described all four outbreaks as pandemics, but true pandemics, presumably caused by major new viral types, are clearly identifiable only in 1830-1831 and 1833. The status of the 1836-1837 outbreak is unclear, but there was no pandemic in 1847-1848.
Five influenza pandemics had occurred during the past century (1918 "Spanish flu", 1957 "Asian flu", 1968 "Hong Kong flu", 1977 "Russian flu" and 2009 H1N1 Pandemic), accounting for hundreds of millions of people infected and tens of millions dead. China was influenced by all the five pandemics, and three of them (1957 "Asian flu", 1968 "Hong Kong flu" and 1977 "Russian flu") were originated from China. The pandemics triggered the establishment of public health agencies and influenza surveillance capacities. In addition, more resources were allocated to influenza-related research, prevention and control. As a leader in the field of influenza, China should further strengthen its pandemic preparedness and response to contribute to global health.
During the past century, 4 influenza pandemics occurred. After the emergence of a novel influenza virus of swine origin in 1976, national, state, and local US public health authorities began planning efforts to respond to future pandemics. Several events have since stimulated progress in public health emergency planning: the 1997 avian influenza A(H5N1) outbreak in Hong Kong, China; the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States; the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome; and the 2003 reemergence of influenza A(H5N1) virus infection in humans. We outline the evolution of US pandemic planning since the late 1970s, summarize planning accomplishments, and explain their ongoing importance. The public health community's response to the 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic demonstrated the value of planning and provided insights into improving future plans and response efforts. Preparedness planning will enhance the collective, multilevel response to future public health crises.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported Dec. 1, 2019, and the cause was a then-new coronavirus later named SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 may have originated in an animal and changed (mutated) so it could cause illness in humans. In the past, several infectious disease outbreaks have been traced to viruses originating in birds, pigs, bats and other animals that mutated to become dangerous to humans. Research continues, and more study may reveal how and why the coronavirus evolved to cause pandemic disease.
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