The World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic on Thursday, the fourth influenza pandemic to be called in the last century. Here is a list of the three previous cases:
1918-1919 SPANISH FLU. A cousin of the H1N1 strain of today's "swine" flu unleashed the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured. It spread to nearly every part of the world, even as far as the Arctic and remote Pacific islands.
Between 40 and 50 million people died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most victims were healthy young adults, whereas seasonal influenza fatalities are usually the very young and old and people weakened by an existing medical condition.
1957-1958 ASIAN FLU: A novel H2N2 strain, first identified in southern China in February 1957, spread to Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. The flu killed some four million people, according to WHO. It mainly affected the elderly.
1968-69 HONG KONG FLU. This was a H3N2 viral strain that was detected in Hong Kong in early 1968 and spread to the United States, peaking in December 1968 and 1969. Estimates of the death toll range from one to two million.
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