Before 1918, it had come and gone in cycles, a serious illness, especially for the elderly, but nowhere near as deadly as smallpox, yellow fever or cholera. In 1947, Jonas Salk, one of the vaccine's creators, began to develop a polio vaccine, which was perfected and approved in 1955. The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most devastating single disease outbreak in modern history, and examining the virus that caused it may help prepare for, … An outbreak can occur if a new strain of influenza virus emerges against which the population has no immunity. The pandemic is commonly believed to have occurred in three waves. The Italian word influenza derived from a Latin word for the influence of the stars on human affairs — a grim visitation beyond anyone’s control. At the time, scientists had not yet discovered flu viruses, but we know today that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A (H1N1) virus. The protective efficacy of these inactivated vaccines was demonstrated in the 1950s. The H1N1 virus that caused the outbreak was discovered to possess genetic material from human, avian, and two different swine influenza viruses. It is generally caused by one of two types of influenza virus: influenza A or influenza B. Influenza is caused by a virus that is transmitted from person to person through airborne respiratory secretions. Unusual flu-like activity was first identified in … The influenza virus was discovered in the early 1930s, and scientists developed a working vaccine by the 1940s, when it was first used on soldiers during World War II. For example, penicillin was not discovered until 1928. Influenza, or flu, is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. Influenza vaccines did not exist at the time, and even antibiotics had not been developed yet. A quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine was licensed in the United States in 2012, and a quadrivalent live virus nasal spray vaccine was licensed in 2013. Officials investigating the outbreak quickly traced the illness to La Gloria, where a young boy, who later became known as “patient zero,” was discovered to be infected with a previously unknown strain of influenza virus. The 2009 H1N1 outbreak was not nearly as deadly as the pandemic of 1918–19. Some isolates of influenza A virus cause severe disease both in domestic poultry and, rarely, in humans. This led to the study of the virus’s characteristics and the development and use of inactivated vaccines in the late 1930s and 1940s. The need for a 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine became apparent after the strains for the seasonal flu vaccine had already been selected, so that a separate vaccine was created. Likewise, no flu antiviral drugs were available. Influenza A virus causes influenza in birds and some mammals, and is the only species of the genus Alphainfluenzavirus of the virus family Orthomyxoviridae. 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