1580 Pandemic Research Paper

The 1580 pandemic is the first outbreak that we can be certain was Influenza. During the summer of 1580 the pathogen was recorded around Asia Minor and North Africa. Due to knowledge gained by Italian accounts, it is believed that it moved from Malta to Sicily in July 1580 and then had dispersed through the Italian peninsula by August of that same year. Throughout that time Phillip II lorded over Southern Italy, and several North African ports. So we can therefore theorise that this outbreak was likely caused by his troops that were sent to fight the Dutch.

The main change in the treatment of Influenza over time was the development of the Flu vaccine, which reduces the risk of the pathogen infecting you by 50% - 60%. This and the develop of Adamantamine which was the first antiviral drug to have a potent enough effect against any virus. These new technologies were made possible by the ability that technology has given scientists to share their research. The idea of the flu vaccine only came about because of the development of vaccines of other diseases. This new technology would have given Jonas Salk and Thomas Francis the help they needed to invent the flu vaccine.
The beginning of this pandemic (In the Spring 1918) was fairly mild, the people who did get sick experienced the normal symptoms, and recovered after a few days. But in the fall of the same year a second and extremely contagious wave of this virus appeared. After showing symptoms, patients would die between hours and days. Due to this the average life expectancy in America was reduced by 12 years. The deaths that this pandemic caused have been estimated at 20 - 50 million. But the most unusual aspect of this strain of influenza was that it infected so many young men and women; people who were normally not affected by the