Comparative Analysis of Coronavirus and the 1918 Flue
Title: Comparative Analysis of Coronavirus and the 1918 Flue
Thesis: Different disastrous and catastrophic events have hit the world at different times. Such events lead to death, suffering, and panic in the general population. Other than the devastating natural phenomena, there have been occurrences of the outbreak of diseases that have spread to the global level and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, such as the 1527 plague, the 1918 Spanish flue, the SAARS, and at present the COVID-19 that commenced in December 2019 in Wuhan China. The following paper seeks to explicate the similarities and differences between the COVID-19 and the 1918 Spanish influenza. It shall also discuss the moral lessons from the two comparisons.
- Introduction
- Thesis
- Arguments
- The outbreak of Spanish Flue immediately the First World War has been labeled by medics as the global health holocaust as it claimed the lives of over 500 million people across the globe. The 1918 flue has been regarded as the worst health pandemic of all time. At present, the coronavirus pandemic has also recorded fear among the people across the globe as it continues to spread like bushfire. Pandemics have hit the world at different times and have had varying impacts on the people. At present, COVID-19 has held the world ransom as people are counting losses while at the same time hundreds of thousands have succumbed to it.
III. Similarities: Both conditions are both viral diseases and thus share some symptoms in common. Both the flue and coronavirus disease are highly infectious and contagious. Again in terms of management, the world is applying similar social control measures to Spanish influenza and the novel coronavirus disease. Measures like travel bans, quarantine rules, and keeping safer social distances were applied by different governments in checking the spread of Spanish flu
- Differences: Spanish flue mostly affected the middle-aged population, and the majority of people who succumbed to the scours of the disease were individuals aged between 30 and 40 years. On the contrary, the COVID-19 causes mild illness to many people across the age groups, but severely affects the elderly.
- Conclusion: Moral lessons from the comparison. Behavior change from the normal practices proved to be effective, breaking the chains of the spread of both diseases. Besides, timely and open communication and rapid response are critical in managing the spread of a pandemic disease
Comparative Analysis of Coronavirus and the 1918 Flue
Brown, Jeremy. The coronavirus is no 1918 pandemic. The Atlantic, March 3, 2020
The author discusses, at length, the possible remedies to the two diseases. He posits that behavior change is mandatory for the successful management of the two diseases. He recommends avoidance of crowded places such as social halls, observing general hygiene, and staying in isolation for individuals confirmed positive for the two diseases. However, he warns that the two are not one and the same! He posits that the extent of damage caused by the two is one of the differences. He recommends proper communication structure between the various departments as a way of handling the pandemic. The article provides significant information to the government agencies on how to manage and control the spread of the disease.
Ryan, Brad. How does coronavirus compare to Spanish flu? COVID-19 has important differences in the 1918 outbreak. ABC News, March 11, 2020
The author of this article has explained that the two pandemics have similarities in terms of measures put forth by the governments to mitigate them. He has identified calls by governments for responsible social behaviors as successful tools for checking the spread of the pandemic in both cases. This article covers measures like travel bans, quarantine rules, and keeping safer social distances as some of the measures put in place by governments to mitigate the spread of the two pandemics. This article provides impeccable information for both academicians and healthcare professionals as wells as the general public who are interested in knowing the safest ways of handling airborne infectious diseases.
Schulze, Elizabeth. What the 1918 influenza pandemic can teach governments about coronavirus, CNBC, March 18, 2020
The author presents a comparative analysis of the two pandemic diseases. In the article, the author explicates that there are distinctive differences between the two diseases. Her analysis covers a plethora of differences. She, for instance, highlights that the two diseases target different age groups. Furthermore, she also posits that the clinical outcomes of the two diseases also vary greatly among children. This information is critical for medical researchers since it can enable them to understand the prognosis of the disease as well as the at-risk population that requires proper attention.
Whiting Kate. Coronavirus vs. flu: how do they compare? World Economic Forum, January 31, 2020
The article presents similarities between the Spanish flue and COVID-19. The similarities are highlighted and discussed right from the causal organisms to the mode of transmission and symptoms. The author indicates that both flue and COVID-19 are caused by a virus and that they both affect the respiratory system of human beings. This source is helpful for the management of the spread of the disease as it gives critical information regarding the causal organisms.
Works Cited
Brown, Jeremy. The coronavirus is no 1918 pandemic. The Atlantic, March 3, 2020
Ryan, Brad. How does coronavirus compare to Spanish flu? COVID-19 has important differences in the 1918 outbreak. ABC News, March 11, 2020
Schulze, Elizabeth. What the 1918 influenza pandemic can teach governments about coronavirus, CNBC, March 18, 2020
Whiting Kate. Coronavirus vs. flu: how do they compare? World Economic Forum, January 31, 2020