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VIRUS LESSON

What year was the Spanish flu pandemic, how many people died and was it worse than Covid-19?

THE Spanish flu was the most devastating pandemic in modern history, with one-third of world's population getting infected.

It was caused by a virus with genes of an avian origin, according to the CDC, and was otherwise known as the swine flu.

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A makeshift hospital during the influenza epidemic at Camp Upton, Long Island, in the fall of 1918Credit: EPA
in New York City.

How many people died in the Spanish flu pandemic?

About 50million people died around the world, and 675,000 lost their lives in the US.

A total of 500million people were infected with the virus.

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