Past may hold clue to future flu fight Secrets may be in blood of 1918 survivors

Star Ledger ^ | 09.29.06 | CAROL ANN CAMPBELL

[Ronaldus Magnus]

HIV..aka High Five.

I had to look it up to figure out what you were talking about, but now that's my new word for the day!

[Twinkie]

One theory, and just a theory, about why the flu epidemic spread so fast around the world was that it was at the end of the war. Aspirin had just been introduced (according to the article) and had been used on the battlefield; returning soldiers were bringing the new "wonder drug" to the attention of their friends and families all over the world.

When a person is first taking an infectious disease, the body naturally produces an initial rise in temperature (a fever) in order to kill the bacteria causing the disease. The theory was that taking aspirin in order to bring down the initial fever associated with the flu caused the bacteria to survive and grow in huge numbers over the next few days and ultimately quickly killing a person as it regrouped in the system.

[Mila]

Upon reading this, I remembered that I saw a program on PBS concerning similar research done in England on the black death (bubonic plague). It was extremely interesting.

Here's a synopsis:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_plague/index.html

[Smokin' Joe]

Really belated ping to flu research...

[sneakers]

"But for some strange reason, perhaps the culture at the time, there seemed to be a national if not world wide amnesia about what happened – people at the time did not want to talk about it later and thus later generations didn’t learn how bad it really was."

You're right. I'm 51, and I didn't know about this until about 10 years ago. I was kind of shocked that something of that magnitude would not be common knowledge.

[Smokin' Joe]

I think we are complacent to think, even with our medical advances, that something like this can’t happen today.

I agree. In our reliance on antibiotics to kill what ails you, as a culture we have let the most basic of sanitary habits fade away.

I am afraid there would be a period when any pandemic disease would spread like wildfire, partly because so many are clueless about containing their own germs, and partly because diseases hyped in the press which seem to affect few would lead many people to ignore initial reports as more hype.

With air travel, in 24 hours the damage would be done.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

My grandfather was one of eleven children born at the turn of the last century and onwards. What was amazing is that his mother carried all of her children to full term, and never miscarried. Given the lack of medical advice available at the time, this is amazing.

I believe the current estimate is that forty percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. If that is true, how did my great-grandmother not miscarry even once?

Maybe it is something in the genes.

[redgolum]

That is interesting, since we still don't really know what the Black Death was.

[redgolum]

The Black Death had a similar impact. It was so horrible that the survivors blocked it out. There is surprisingly little contemporary writing about it.

[MrNationalist]

This is what I was talking about. Of course I could be wrong by labeling it 'black plague'. I used the generic term of 'black plague'.

http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-41566.html

[redgolum]

Just read an interesting article about that.

It is fascinating how much genetics plays a part in surviving things like this. For instance, on my father's side, no one died in 1918 from the flu. My grandpa remembered it, and the panic it caused, but many people in the area seemed to be immune.

My mother's side, however, had a number of people die. At my grandma's funeral last year, I talked with some of her siblings and cousins who remembered stories from that time. Very horrifying. What is interesting is that both families lived in the same area (eastern Nebraska), but seemed to show vastly different mortality rates.

[MrNationalist]

Thanks for the family info. I really love history thru a family member. Here is a Map of Flu
Perhaps your family missed it.

[MrNationalist]

Son of a Gun! Bad link. Try this one:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/maps/index.html

[blam]

"The Black Death had a similar impact. It was so horrible that the survivors blocked it out. There is surprisingly little contemporary writing about it."

I've read recently that some now believe that more than one infectious agent was involved.

Also, most of the deaths occured in the crowded cities and that is where the educated (literate) lived and most of the survivors couldn't read/write. Not much was written in this period. It is believed that something similar happened during the Dark Ages...nothing much is written about it until a hundred(s) years later.

[Malacoda]

I believe that all the antibacterial soaps and clorox sanitizing wipes have a lot to do with it, as well. People keep things SO clean that they don't give their immune systems anything to fight...and end up with wimpy little immune responses.

My niece is CONSTANTLY sick now that she has started school, because my SIL religiously sanitized everything, used the Dial antibacterial soap, bleach, Purell, etc. -- the poor little girl had practically NO immune system, and when she started school she was ripe for every bug that came down the pike.

[Smokin' Joe]

I agree. I honestly think it is good for kids to play in the dirt a bit, just teach them to keep their hands out of their mouths, nostrils and eyes, and make them scrub up before they eat.

BTW, the two people I know who are never sick work clearing drains and sewers. Not sure I'd want the kids to go that far...

As for schools, daycare, etc., I have no doubt they could be the big pathogen exchange venues for a pandemic. We have several grandchildren in school (two who live with us), so when I get in from a job, I get to catch up on all the latest bugs they picked up at the local 'exchange'.

There was a time when people just kept their sick kids home, but with mandatory attendance limits and two paycheck families, that seems to not be the case nowadays.

[HostileTerritory]

Isn't the influenza a virus? Antibiotics are no help against those.

[HostileTerritory]

My grandfather is in his mid-90s and living in New Jersey. He didn't lose any immediate relatives to the flu, but perhaps he or a family member experienced the disease. I called my father and hopefully this can do some good.

[redgolum]

My Mothers side was around Omaha at the time, and my fathers was 40 miles north.

So both where in the early outbreak zone (that spot in eastern Nebraska), but my father's side was further in the country.