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The 6 Major Flu Pandemics of the Century.


1918 Spanish Flu
The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus. It is unknown where the disease's epicenter originated, but it spread very quickly worldwide from 1918-1919.  In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel returning from the war in the spring of 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people, or one-third of the world’s population, became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide, with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.


1956 Asian Flu (H2N2)
In February 1957, a new influenza A (H2N2) virus emerged in East Asia, triggering a pandemic. It was first reported in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April 1957, and in coastal cities in the United States in the summer of 1957. The estimated deaths were 1.1 million worldwide and 116,000 in the United States.


1968 Hong Kong Flu (H3N2)
The 1968 pandemic was caused by an influenza A (H3N2) virus. It was first noted in the United States in September 1968. The estimated number of deaths was 1 million worldwide and about 100,000 in the United States. Most excess deaths were in people 65 years and older. The H3N2 virus continues to circulate worldwide as seasonal influenza.


2002 SARS ( Acute Respiratory Syndrom) Covid 2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS. SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. The disease spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained.

2009 Swine Flu (H1N1)
The 2009 swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of 2009 before spreading to the rest of the world. In one year, the virus-infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to the CDC.
The 2009 flu pandemic primarily affected children and young adults, and 80% of the deaths were in people younger than 65,  A vaccine for the H1N1 virus that caused the swine flu is now included in the annual flu vaccine.

2012 MERS ( Middle East Respiratory Syndrom)
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is an illness caused by a virus (specifically, a coronavirus). Most MERS patients develop the severe respiratory disease with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. About 3 or 4 out of every 10 patients reported with MERS have died. All cases are linked to the Arabian Peninsula.
The largest known outbreak of MERS outside the Arabian Peninsula occurred in the Republic of Korea in 2015. The attack was associated with a traveler returning from the Arabian Peninsula.

 Side note:    
       
What does the Flu Shot protect against?
The Flu shots protect against three or four strains of the flu virus.
Trivalent Flu vaccines (three-component) protect against two influenzas A strains-H1N1 and H3N2, and one influenza B
Quadrivalent (four-component),  the vaccine is designed to protect against four different influenza viruses; two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses.
Sources CDC center of disease control and prevention.

These facts help you get a better understanding of the influenza virus. Let me know if you find this information helpful by leaving me a comment, and let me know what quick overviews you would like to read next.
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