Pandemic Parallels: 1918 & 2020: Origins of the Diseases

Origins of the Viruses
The exact origins of the 1918 Influenza are unknown, but historians believe the virus most likely started in Fort Riley, Kansas in the early spring months of the year, where migratory bird routes overlapped with local hog farming and created conditions for animal-to-person spread. As scientists now know, viruses from different animals can intersect, mix genes, and create entirely new viruses that can be spread to humans.[i] With the help of the war and troop and supply movements, it was carried globally in mere months.

It was under similar conditions that scientist believe the novel coronavirus emerged in late December of 2019 from a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan, China.[ii] With today’s global economy, it spread quickly reaching the U.S. in January of 2020. By February, Europe and the Middle East experienced outbreaks, and on March 11 the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) declared it a global pandemic.[iii]

Biological Differences
Historians and virologists have examined the historical descriptions and evidence from the 1918 influenza and compared them with the 2019 novel coronavirus. Both diseases transmit via respiratory droplets and the surfaces they land on, and both claim their deadliness due to their leading to respiratory failure in their victims.

However, the two viruses differ significantly in the way that they can mutate. The type of flu that led to the 1918 pandemic is more closely aligned with seasonal flu, which can mutate rapidly. This is why flu vaccinations are recommended annually, to protect against these changes that create new versions of the same virus. The coronavirus that produces COVID-19 is genetically different and much more stable, meaning it is less given to mutation. This means that waves in infection for COVID-19 can more effectively be controlled with practices like social distancing and mask wearing, as the virus being combated is not changing.[iv]

Naming the Viruses
Initially wartime censors minimized reports of the flu in 1918 in order to control public panic and hide conditions from enemy nations. The disease became known as “Spanish Flu” because Spain was a neutral country and thus reported freely on the disease, including the highly publicized illness of their king, which left many believing it struck worse there than anywhere else.

Similarly, when the first COVID-19 case reached the U.S. in 2020, some U.S. officials downplayed the potential for a pandemic to avoid causing unnecessary panic, despite intelligence reports to the contrary.[i] The World Health Organization announced its official name for the disease as “coronavirus disease 2019” which abbreviated as COVID-19.[ii]

Image of Fort Riley, KS in 1918  - courtesy of The Wichita Eagle

Market scene image from Wuhan, China - courtesy of National Geographic