The Threatening Strains of Influenza

Influenza is a type of respiratory illness that can cause many pesky symptoms, but can result in death in certain cases where a person’s immune system isn’t functioning properly. There are some particularly deadly strains of the virus, however, which have caused the deaths of millions of people. In this article, we’ll examine some of the most threatening strains of influenza that have changed the course of human history.

H1N1 was the first significant flu strain in the 1900s to cause a worldwide pandemic. The virus killed a vast number of people with estimates at the number being placed between fifty and one hundred million. It was also known as “La Grippe”, and it persisted throughout the world in the years of 1918 and 1919. The way that the virus attacked the body is very similar to the threat that we now face from H5N1, or the avian flu.

H2N2 was a strain of the flu known as the Asian flu, and it ran its course between the years of 1957 and 1958. Originating in China, the H2N2 influenza strain killed between one and four million people according to various estimates.

H3N2 was another strain of the influenza virus, which was named the Hong Kong flu. The virus struck between the years of 1968 and 1969, and when all was said and done, approximately seven hundred and fifty thousand people died from H3N2. The virus was slightly similar to the H2N2 strain, and for that reason, those who were affected by the Asian flu had strengthened immune systems that were better suited to dealing with the Hong Kong flu.

The next large pandemic threat that we are facing from influenza is known as strain H5N1. This strain was found to exist in birds across Asia, and the disease is spreading rapidly among domestic birds. Human cases have been reported, but not human to human transmissions have taken place as of yet. If the strain finds a way to mutate so that it can easily spread from human to human, we will face another pandemic. The documented cases of avian flu in humans so far have been quite terrifying, considering they have shown that the strain has a mortality rate that may be upwards of fifty percent.

H7N7 is a new type of influenza strain that we have recently discovered. This strain has affected many different animals, including birds, pigs, seals, horses and humans. H7N7 was found to be present in birds in the Netherlands in 2003, and then once more in 2006. The fact that the strain can jump the species barrier so efficiently makes it a marked threat when it comes to a potential pandemic.

Now that you can see which flu strains affected the human race in the past, you can better understand the significant risks we face when it comes to flu pandemics in the future. If H5N1 mutates into a virus that is more easily able to be transmitted amongst humans, the toll on the world may be vast.