February CPE Article A Global Pandemic: Once a History Lesson Now a Modern-Day Reality – A Comparison Between the Spanish Flu and COVID-19 Pandemic Author: Jessica Mattingly, 2021 PharmD Candidate; Abigail Quinlin, 2021 PharmD Candidate; Amy Priest, 2022 PharmD Candidate; Emily Frederick, PharmD, BCPS The author declare that there are no financial relationships that could be perceived as real or apparent conflicts of interest. Universal Activity #0143-0000-21-001-H06-P &T 1.0 Contact Hours Expires 3/12/24 Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this Knowledge-based article, the reader should be able to: 1. Compare and contrast influenza H1N1 with COVID-19. 2. Assess the severity of the viral infections. 3. Review “treatments” for each viral process. With the COVID-19 pandemic still causing global health and safety concerns and dominating news cycles, it may be difficult to recall a time the nation has ever previously been so strained by a healthcare crisis. However, this is not the first time such a large-scale pandemic has rocked the nation and likely not the last. One notable historical example of a large-scale pandemic is the 1918 influenza pandemic (also referred to as the Spanish Flu). Though over 100 years have passed since the onset of the 1918 influenza, many references and comparisons have been drawn between it and COVID-19. Though the two pandemics differ in their causative agents, they also share some parallels such as the global response to each.
the majority of infections and deaths attributable to the virus. The final wave of the pandemic struck the United States in early 1919. This final wave had a lower rate of infection than the second waved but still retained a similar mortality rate as compared to the second wave2. In total, it was estimated that the Spanish Flu lead to more than 500 million cases of infection and greater than 50 million individuals losing their lives due to the virus1.
It has been postulated that the impacts of Spanish Flu could have been exacerbated by several factors including uncleanliness and overcrowding. The symptoms of infection varied based on the severity of illness, but patients often presented with symptoms such as fever, headache, nosebleed, pneumoThe Spanish influenza spread globally between nia, encephalitis, blood-streaked urine, and coma. 1918-1920 and was caused by the orthomyxovirus, Those infected were also at risk of acquiring a secsubtype H1N1. This virus wreaked havoc initially in ondary bacterial pneumonia infection that further Europe before eventually spreading throughout the increased the possibility of complications and inUnited States in “waves”1. The initial wave in the creased the mortality rate1. United States resulted in mass illnesses, but relaAt the time when the 1918 influenza shocked the tively low mortality rates that are similar to annual world, science was less advanced compared to toinfluenza mortality rates. As the infection rates from day and there were not any known vaccines or the first wave decreased another wave was loommedications that were effective in mitigating it. ing. The next wave struck a few months later and Non-pharmacologic treatment options were conspread throughout Europe. The spread of this wave ceptualized and applied in certain cases, but sucwas thought to be partially due to shipping goods cess was limited. For example, in China, people and the subsequent contacts made upon carrier sprayed their houses with lime water or powder ships docking at shore. This wave contributed to |20| Kentucky Pharmacists Association | January/February 2021
