The 1918 Spanish flu infected more than 500 million individuals around the world, around one-third of the world's population.
For the past two decades, the coronaviruses have been spreading worldwide, attacking the respiratory system. As the Novel coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic) continues to wreak havoc, the researchers explain how the virus affects the human body, especially those with underlying health conditions. The virus has now become a significant threat to most countries. Now, according to the new research published in the JAMA Network Open journal, the novel coronavirus is as deadly as the 1918 Spanish Flu. Moreover, the research suggests that it may be more fatal than the Spanish flu.
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic infected more than 500 million individuals around the world (around one-third of the world's population) and killed around 20 to 50 million people across the world. It was one of the worst pandemics in the world had ever seen. During this research, the researchers compared deaths in the first two months of COVID-19 pandemic across New York City, against the deaths in the first two months of the 1918 pandemic across New York City. In NYC, many individuals died during the acute early outbreak of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic than the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team counted 287 deaths per 100,000 individuals at the peak of the 1918 pandemic in NYC, while 202 deaths for every 100,000 people at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team then calculated monthly mortality, an average over the three years leading up to both epidemic events. The researchers calculated 100 deaths per 100,000 people (1918 pandemic) and 50 deaths per 100,000 people (COVID-19 pandemic), suggesting that COVID-19 is at least as deadly as the Spanish Flu. The goal of this new research was to help make it relevant to people, the unusual magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic.