Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Nov 30;3(2):190-4.
doi: 10.4172/1747-0862.1000033.

Origins of the Spanish Influenza pandemic (1918-1920) and its relation to the First World War

Anton Erkoreka  1
Affiliations

Origins of the Spanish Influenza pandemic (1918-1920) and its relation to the First World War

Anton Erkoreka. J Mol Genet Med. .

Abstract

The virus which was responsible for the first benign wave of the Spanish Influenza in the spring of 1918, and which was to become extremely virulent by the end of the summer of 1918, was inextricably associated with the soldiers who fought during the First World War. The millions of young men who occupied the military camps and trenches were the substrate on which the influenza virus developed and expanded. Many factors contributed to it, such as: the mixing on French soil of soldiers and workers from the five continents, the very poor quality of life of the soldiers, agglomeration, stress, fear, war gasses used for the first time in history in a massive and indiscriminate manner, life exposed to the elements, cold weather, humidity and contact with birds, pigs and other animals, both wild and domestic. Today, this combination of circumstances is not present and so it seems unlikely that new pandemics, such as those associated with the avian influenza or swine influenza, will emerge with the virulence which characterized the Spanish Influenza during the autumn of 1918.

Keywords: H1N1; Pandemic influenza; Spanish influenza; Word War I; influenza A.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Original document reporting the start of the pandemic in the American and French Armies (Photographed by the author; courtesy ASSA, Box 814).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abrahams A, Hallows N, French H. A Further Investigation into Influenza Pneumococcal and Influenza Streptococcal Septicaemia: Epidemic Influenza Pneumonia of Highly Fatal Type and its Relation to Purulent Bronchitis. Lancet. 1919;1:1–9.
    1. Ansart S, Pelat C, Boelle PY, et al. Mortality Burden of the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic in Europe. Influenza Other Respiratory Viruses. 2009;3:99–106. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barry JM. The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. New York: Penguin Books; 2005. The Great Influenza.
    1. Bertillon J. La grippe a Paris et dans quelques autres villes de France et de l'étranger en 1889-1890. Annuaire Statistique de la ville de Paris pour l'année 1890. 1892:97–131.
    1. Cachie . Archive du Service de Santé des Armées. Paris: Carton; 1918. Le Medecin-Major 1a xl. Dr. Cachie. Rapport du Médecin chargé du Service Médical du Centre d'Instruction Automobile Indo-Chinois sur une epidémie survenue fin Avril 1918; p. 810.

LinkOut - more resources