1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic In The Perspective Of Global History

Abstract:As one of the most lethal plagues in human history,1918-1919 pandemic influenza, has killed 50 million-1 billion people in less than a year all over the world. It had a great impact on the World War I and its post-war arrangements, the social psychology and the economy in all parts of the earth. Its origin, spread and consequences all prompt-us not to forget its existence in the history and the possibility of reemergence, so that to have response in the future.This dissertation consists of five parts:Preface introduces the simple history of the influenza pandemic and the pathogenic characteristics of influenza virus as a basis of influenza pandemic, and the international academic study on the pandemic influenza of 1918. In the 20th century, there have been three global influenza pandemics; the pandemic influenza of 1918 has the most serious impact. Influenza viruses as RNA viruses are highly variability, which is the virology basis of influenza pandemic. The researches of west academic mainly focus on the response of public health and social history of medicine.Chapter 1 lays emphasis on the source and origin of 1918 influenza virus.1918 influenza virus is a virus like avian flu, it came from birds. As a battle field, France had all the necessary extreme conditions of epidemics, is the most likely origins of 1918 influenza pandemic.The chapter 2 looks into the course and causation of 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. The overcrowding and modern transportation was propitious to the spread of influenza viruses. The short of material caused by the war, weakened the people's resistance to the influenza, the war influenced the effectiveness of public health policy; cyclical change of climate is conducive to virus mutation.Chapter 3 illuminates the great impact of 1918-1919 influenza pandemic on the war and postwar international arrangements, and its social psychological and economic impacts.Based on the analysis of 4 chapters above, the final chapter discusses the relationship between infectious diseases and human ecology and the impact of life way of human society on epidemics, suggesting that we must improve the research on epidemics.