Spanish Flu (feb 1, 1918 – apr 1, 1920)

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The 1918-1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or Spanish flu, was a devastating global influenza outbreak caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest documented case occurred in Kansas, US, in 1918, followed by France, Germany, and the UK in April. By the end of World War I, nearly a third of the global population had been infected, with estimates of deaths ranging from 17 million to 50 million. The pandemic's geographic origin is indeterminate due to limited historical epidemiological data. Young adults were particularly affected, with high mortality rates due to a six-year climate anomaly affecting disease vector migration and increased likelihood of spread through bodies of water. However, the claim that young adults had high mortality during the pandemic has been contested. Malnourishment, overcrowded medical camps, and poor hygiene, exacerbated by the war, promoted bacterial superinfection, leading to prolonged death beds for most victims.

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