In March of 1918, Spanish Flu began it’s attack on the globe. What isn’t commonly known is that Spanish Flu was, in fact, swine flu. A strain of the H1N1 virus, very similar to the one we‘re seeing today. The reason it was called “Spanish” Flu is because Spain was the only country reporting uncensored information during that part of the war. Because the world was hearing about the pandemic from Spain, it was assumed that was where it originated. It’s estimated that anywhere from 20 to 100 million people were killed world- wide between March 1918 and June 1920.

If you’ve been watching the news since this began in April, you noticed how strongly the media reacted when it started. For many of us, it may have seemed like they were being overly dramatic. After all, swine flu among pig farmers is relatively common. Even if this strain was unusually virulent and made it’s way around the world, it didn’t kill nearly as many people as the regular flu does every year. So why the hype? I think it’s because this strain is remarkably similar to the 1918 strain. This is not something they want everyone to know, however. Our government will never see the point of notifying the public if there’s a chance that chaos might result. Because of this, I’ve only twice heard a news program make the connection between the 1918 pandemic and the one we’re currently in. If these two strains are similar, it’s almost certain that predictions, unknown to us, have been made as to what will happen next.

Another aspect that isn’t commonly known is that, in March 1918, a much less deadly form of the H1N1 virus circled the globe. Many became sick, and some died, but it didn’t seem alarmingly serious apart from the fact that it was popping up in several different countries. Sound familiar? The virus mutated, however, and came back in August of that year. When it circulated this time, the death tolls rose to levels that shamed the bubonic plague. Our outbreak started in April. So, if history repeats itself, the second wave should begin sometime in September. There are already schools reporting outbreaks of swine flu within the first week of school. The scary part is that, while other countries are closing down certain public places and schools, we’ve loosened our restrictions in the U.S. It’s now up to individual parties to decide whether or not their school close down. One person said that, even if a few children died at their school, they’d probably keep it open. This doesn’t inspire much confidence in a parent like myself. That means, by the time they realize they need to shut down their school, every other child could be infected.

Today, the media is telling us that people who are the most at risk of infection (pregnant women, children, sick, elderly) are the ones who need vaccinations the most. In 1918, however, the second wave attacked healthy people, not immunocompromised people. It was said that H1N1 killed by creating a cytokine storm which basically puts an immune system into overdrive. A healthy immune system is therefore more at risk than a compromised immune system. This virus attacks outside of the flu season for exactly this reason. There are more healthy people to infect, thus ensuring the virus’ survival. While the first wave, that hit in April of this year, might have attacked at risk people, it can be assumed that the second wave will not.

If there’s any good news it’s that the most deadly part of the 1918 pandemic only lasted a few months. After those few months, the virus rapidly mutated again, and the number of deaths decreased dramatically. Other countries also experienced success in containing the virus by quarantining. I don’t claim to be an expert on these things, but if I were to give advice, it would be this--practice awesome hygiene, if you get sick STAY HOME, and if you have children remember that you’re the one who has to protect them because the school system certainly won’t.

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