Influenza

The Asian flu pandemic of 1957-58 caused between one and two million deaths. Originating in China, it was first identified in Guizhou (China) in February 1957 with few people having immunity - only those who had antibodies built up from surviving the influenza pandemic of 1889-90. Due to scientific advances the virus was quickly identified as Influenza Type A subtype H2N2, a form of avian or bird flu resulting from a reassortment where a mutation in wild ducks combines with a pre-existing human strain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spreading to Singapore that month, Hong Kong the next and eventually covering the whole world the disease reached the U.S. in June, where it arrived quietly with only a few outbreaks recorded in the summer of 1957. It was when children returned to school in the Autumn that the virus began to gain momentum as children spread it across classrooms and took it home to their families. The same thing happened in Britain where 50% of school children became infected. The outbreaks continued to follow public gatherings where close contact is inevitable and more and more cases were recorded in camps, army units, and at conferences and festivals. Infection rates were highest among school kids, young adults and pregnant women although the elderly sector of the population recorded the most deaths. A vaccine, limited in supply, was made available in August 1957 and was a major contributor towards isolating the disease. The eventual mortality rate was around 0.25% and experts believe that 1/3 of the human race caught the virus at some point during the pandemic.