title: Spanish influenza in Japanese armed forces, 1918-1920.
abstract: With the recent outbreaks of avian influenza A (H5N1), the risk for the next influenza pandemic has increased. For effective countermeasures against the next pandemic, investigation of past pandemics is necessary. We selected cases diagnosed as influenza from medical records and hospitalization registries of Japanese army hospitals during 1918-1920, the Spanish influenza era, and investigated clinical features and circumstances of outbreaks. Admission lists showed a sudden increase in the number of inpatients with influenza in November 1918 and showed the effect of the first wave of this pandemic in Tokyo. The death rate was high (6%-8%) even though patients were otherwise healthy male adults.
authors.affiliation: International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan. akawana@imcj.hosp.go.jp
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawana
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Naka
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujikura
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kudo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006772:Hospitals, Military; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000266:history*; D012042:Registries; D014041:Tokyo / Q000453:epidemiology