Jivraj N, Butler A
AR Butler Medical School University of St Andrews KY16 9TS, UK.
J R Coll Physicians Edinb. 2013;43(4):347-52. doi: 10.4997/JRCPE.2013.405.
The worldwide influenza outbreak of 1918-19 was a medical catastrophe, causing the deaths of around 50 million people. There is evidence however that the major wave, in November 1918, was not part of the pandemic that started in the summer of 1918. The virus responsible for the major wave has been isolated but the structural features responsible for its severity remain incompletely understood. In 1918-19 influenza was an infection so little understood that the government was unsure of what action to take. In contrast, during the pandemic starting in 2009, international and national bodies used many means of communication to keep the public fully informed, with beneficial results. In addition, antiviral agents, a vaccine and antibiotics to treat secondary infection were available. Such a response is possible only with appropriate funding and a comprehensive medical infrastructure, making the potential outbreak of severe influenza in a poor part of the world a matter of grave concern.
1918 - 1919年的全球流感大爆发是一场医学灾难，导致约5000万人死亡。然而，有证据表明，1918年11月的主要疫情并非始于1918年夏天的大流行的一部分。引发主要疫情的病毒已被分离出来，但对其严重性的结构特征仍未完全了解。在1918 - 1919年，流感是一种鲜为人知的感染，以至于政府都不确定该采取什么行动。相比之下，在始于2009年的大流行期间，国际和国家机构利用多种通信手段让公众充分了解情况，取得了有益的成果。此外，还可以获得抗病毒药物、疫苗和用于治疗继发感染的抗生素。只有有适当的资金和全面的医疗基础设施，才有可能做出这样的应对，这使得世界贫困地区可能爆发严重流感成为一个令人严重关切的问题。
