Pandemic Hot Spots Map a Path to Prevention

Lessons from the past: Familial aggregation analysis of fatal pandemic influenza (Spanish flu) in Iceland in 1918

davidd submitted, created time 11 months 5 days (www.pnas.org)

The pandemic influenza of 1918 (Spanish flu) killed 21–50 million people globally, including in Iceland, where the characteristics and spread of the epidemic were well documented. It has been postulated that genetic host factors may have contributed to this high mortality. They identified 455 individuals who died of the Spanish flu in Iceland during a 6-week period during the winter of 1918, representing >92% of all fatal domestic cases mentioned by historical accounts.

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