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One hundred years after the widespread death of the 1918 influenza pandemic, the flu is still a serious and deadly disease, said Professor Christopher Brooke. Influenza vaccines and new antiviral treatments could help counter another pandemic. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer
Fall 2018 marks the centennial of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which affected approximately one-third of the world's population and killed more than 50 million people, including 675,000 in the United States, according to the Center for Control and Prevention diseases. The flu has still not healed, but new vaccines and anti-viral treatments could help counteract another deadly epidemic, said Christopher Brooke, a professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois. A specialist in the flu virus and her adaptation, Brooke discussed the severity of the flu and how influenza vaccine works in an interview with Liz Ahlberg Touchstone, Biomedical Scientist for News Bureau.
Looks like everyone gets the flu in the winter, and we do not see effects similar to those of 1918. What's the problem? Does this still pose a danger to us today?
Many benign, non-influenza infections are commonly known as "flu", which leads many people to think that the flu is rather mild. Influenza infections can be mild and confused with colds, or they can be very serious or even fatal, especially in the very young and the very old. The infection of pregnant women often leads to a serious infection and a pregnancy loss.
Tens of thousands of people are killed and tens of billions of dollars are spent in the United States every year because of the flu. The best estimate for the last year alone is about 80,000 people died in the United States of influenza infections.
Could a pandemic like 1918 be happening today or could modern medicine oppose it?
The potential for another catastrophic influenza pandemic remains very real. Our understanding of the virus and our ability to detect it is much greater than in 1918, so we are better able to effectively impose quarantine and other measures to minimize its spread. However, the world is much more interconnected than it was in 1918, allowing viruses to spread throughout the world much faster than it could a century ago.
What's in the flu shot? Why should I get one?
The influenza vaccine contains fragments of the four strains of influenza virus that are supposed to circulate in humans this year and teaches your immune system to recognize you and protect you from these viruses.
Everyone should be vaccinated because it protects you against the disease, or at least decreases the severity of the infection, and prevents you from spreading the virus to other members of the community. This is especially important because the consequences of an infection can be very serious for many people – for example, the elderly, pregnant women and people treated for cancer.
I had a flu shot last year and I always got sick. What is the effectiveness of means of infection prevention?
Influenza vaccines do not always prevent infection, but they still limit the severity and duration of the infection, as well as the potential for transmission to others. In addition, many people are infected with other viruses and bacteria during the flu season. It is not because you are sick that the vaccine does not protect you.
Why do we have to get vaccinated every year? With other vaccines, once is enough.
We need new vaccines every year because the virus is constantly evolving. The virus that will circulate next year will be different from the one against which you will be vaccinated this year. For reasons we do not understand, other viruses we target with vaccines are not as effective as the flu in evolving beyond our immune system.
How can new treatments like Tamiflu help? When should someone look for them?
Tamiflu and the newly approved drug Xofluza may limit the duration of the infection if administered early. If you have a risk factor for influenza infection – less than 2 years old or older than 65, pregnancy, weakened immune system or chronic disease – and develop flu-like symptoms, contact your doctor.
Explore further:
The lessons of the 1918 flu pandemic, a hundred years after
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