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Pathogenic Responses among Young Adults during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
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Feb 2012
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Source: Emerg Infect Dis. 18(2):201-207.
[PDF-152.88 KB]
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Alternative Title:Emerg Infect Dis
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Description:Of the unexplained characteristics of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, the extreme mortality rate among young adults (W-shaped mortality curve) is the foremost. Lack of a coherent explanation of this and other epidemiologic and clinical manifestations of the pandemic contributes to uncertainty in preparing for future pandemics. Contemporaneous records suggest that immunopathologic responses were a critical determinant of the high mortality rate among young adults and other high-risk subgroups. Historical records and findings from laboratory animal studies suggest that persons who were exposed to influenza once before 1918 (e.g., A/H3Nx 1890 pandemic strain) were likely to have dysregulated, pathologic cellular immune responses to infections with the A/H1N1 1918 pandemic strain. The immunopathologic effects transiently increased susceptibility to ultimately lethal secondary bacterial pneumonia. The extreme mortality rate associated with the 1918-19 pandemic is unlikely to recur naturally. However, T-cell-mediated immunopathologic effects should be carefully monitored in developing and using universal influenza vaccines.
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Volume:18
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Issue:2
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