Protective immunity and susceptibility to infectious diseases: lessons from the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed nearly 50 million people worldwide and was characterized by an atypical W-shaped mortality curve, where adults between the ages of 30-60 years fared better than younger adults aged 18-30 years. In this review, we will discuss why this influenza virus strain was so virulent and how immunological memory to the 1918 virus may have shaped the W mortality curve. We will end on the topic of the 'honeymoon' period of infectious diseases--the clinically documented period between the ages of 4-13 years during which children demonstrate less morbidity and/or mortality to infectious diseases, in general, compared with young adults.
Ahmed
Rafi
R
Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. ra@microbio.emory.edu
Oldstone
Michael B A
MB
Palese
Peter
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality*