The 1918 Pandemic Never Ended

The 1918 pandemic infected over 500 million people, but the virus that caused it didn't stop in 1918.

Hosted by: Stefan Chin
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[Dontlicktheballoons]

My great grandmother would tell us stories about when the 1918 flu hit Virginia when she was a little girl. No one in our immediate family passed away from it but almost the entire town was bed ridden at 1 point or another. Neighbors would slide meals in through the windows of the sick people's houses, only to then have those neighbors get well and return the favor days or weeks later. She would tell us stories of being only 5 years old but being the only one well enough to go retrieve water from the outdoor well and bring it in one ladlefull at a time.

[lynndonbarr]

I got sick from the 2009 h1n1 flu. I remember that the day when I got sick also coincided with one of the hottest summer days that year, so I was already dehydrated from being outside in the heat, and I wondered why I wasn't getting better after a day inside drinking fluids.
Thankfully I was living with a roommate at the time, because I woke up in the hospital days later. I have momentary memories of waking up while they changed my IV fluids. Hands down the worst experience of my life. I genuinely thought I was going to die, and would have if not for my roommate calling an ambulance.

[Evergreen]

They knew in 1918 that they weren't dealing with any known bacteria. They had ways to filter out bacteria and they still retained the infectious agent. But it wasn't till the 1930's that the first electron microscope was developed that they were able to see the first virus.

[_maxgray]

I nearly died during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and tons of my friends got really sick. It blows my mind that so many people seem to have forgotten it happened.

[markmaurer]

My great-grandfather was an ambulance driver in WW1 and he caught the flu and while he was in the sanatorium his ambulance group was wiped out... The flu saved his life

[kathyastrom]

In November 1918, my grandmother’s little sister Hazel died from the flu, just 18 months old. I recently got a stash of family photos from my father, and in it is a picture of two ~1 year old babies with the name “Hazel” on the back. I don’t know which of the two is her, but that just might be the only photo of her. Thinking about that gives me a bit of a shock when I consider the fleeting nature of our existence on this planet.

[Tempo_Topos]

My grandmother was a little girl during the 1918 flu pandemic. She said she only had two types of nightmare as a kid: about the flu and about the kaiser (the last emperor of Germany).

[davetaylor]

Great video. I have only had one influenza infection in my life. I was living by myself at the time. Every joint in my body hurt for days and the soles of my feet came off in one piece. I was so sick I couldn't get to the doctor and my employer got cranky because I didn't have a medical certificate to them within 48 hours of calling in sick. I went three days with only the water from the bathroom sink keeping me going. I didn't eat, smoke or defecate for that time and when I finally crawled out of bed and made myself my first coffee in four days the milk was off. On day five I was well enough to get to a doctor (although everything still hurt). He spent some time shouting at me for not calling an ambulance. I am not afraid of influenza but I certainly have a healthy respect for it. I gave the HR manager the soles of my feet in a plastic bag when I returned to work, along with a certificate that the doctor happily backdated. She seemed OK with that...

[BrambleGlade]

my friend's grandmother got the 1918 flu and survived, but got so sick from it that she lost her entire head of hair-- it grew back eventually, but brittle and sparser, and never fully recovered.

[romxxii]

The saddest bit is not only did the pandemic stick around and become part of our new normal, but the blatant disregard for public safety was also quite common back then. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[rossplendent]

Quick correction: at around 3:00, the animation zooms into an infected cell to show whole viruses being targeted by antibodies inside the cell. In reality, antibodies don't enter infected cells. They bind to antigens presented on the *outside* of the cell, which were brought there by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).

This is one of the main reasons SARS-CoV-2 is so tricky for our immune systems: once inside your cells, the virus quickly suppresses MHC expression, meaning antigens are hard to come by, and infected cells aren't easily recognized.

[eacalvert]

One of the other theories that I've heard about it why it hit harder in young healthy adults is similar to an issue with COVID: the immune response was stronger, meaning more inflammation and mucus production, which made a lovely home for secondary infection. Extra Credits History did a great series on the this

[seatbelttruck]

My college roommate caught swine flu in 09. They were very consciences about sanitizing and keeping airflow going in the dorm, and fortunately I didn't end up catching it. There were definitely a noticeable amount of flu cases going around campus that year, though not all of them were H1N1. I don't think my area had any "official" cases (my roommate was diagnosed in another state, but came back to school anyway because college).

[kaitlynoddie]

the only memory i have of the 2009 pandemic is being in third grade getting the vaccine at school and my mom came to hold my hand and then ended up holding the hands of all the kids whose parents couldn’t come

[geektome]

I knew two people who died of the 2009 swine flu, including my boss. He was a great man.

[TreadSlowly]

Those antibodies are depicted upside down. The "V" ends attach to antigens. The base "I" segment attaches to immune cells etc.

[icarusbinns]

My sister caught the 2009 outbreak. And got bronchitis on top of that!
When people say they’ve list their voice, they can usually make whisper sounds. Sis was completely silent. Mom got a little white board so sis could communicate with us, when she was awake.

[gregoryclark]

I had the 2009 swine flu, whilst aged 9, and this explains why my parents, born in '59 and '60 weren't bothered by it. I think I was also affected by "long swine flu" since I was noticeably weaker for about 1-1.5 years afterwards.

[lh]

A friend I was hanging out with got the 2009 one really badly. He lost like 12lbs. It was weird because we were in close contact, even sharing drinks and I got nothing.

I did get wrecked with the worst flu of my life in 2003, and my jerk college profs wouldn't let me out of class. I should have gone to the hospital that time. Looking back that is insane.

[sharonsloan]

My husband was really sick with the 2009 swine flu. He quarantined to his room for 2 weeks so our young daughter wouldn't get it. Thankfully neither of us got it. House well ventilated and all high touch areas cleaned frequently, an exhausting 2 weeks.