A comparison of the coronavirus (COVID-19) with the 1918 flu

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of people around the world and has had significant social, political, and economic impacts, as well as a significant toll. Many people are wondering how it compares to seasonal influenza and previous pandemics and how to predict when the pandemic will end. In order to better understand and manage the current pandemic, it is useful to compare it with historical pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish flu, which has been shown to improve the performance and quality of life of patients who have already suffered from some symptoms (COVID-19) for a long time. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the comparison of the coronavirus (COVID-19) with the 1918 influenza. The design of the present study was a review. This study searched and reviewed articles related to the coronavirus and the 1918 influenza from international databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library and Embase using relevant keywords. The 1918 flu affected less than half of the countries, and the most vulnerable groups were healthy adults between the ages of 25 and 40, while COVID-19 has affected almost all countries, and the most vulnerable group are adults over 65. Victims of the 1918 flu died mainly from secondary bacterial pneumonia, while victims of COVID-19 died mainly from an overactive immune response that led to organ failure. These comparisons are important for understanding and predicting the long-term effects of the new COVID-19 pandemic. The lower number of deaths may be the result of our advances in medicine over the century, as we better understand the functional phenotypic expression of COVID-19, we can predict viral mRNA expression, and start treatment earlier. It was a race between using the most advanced synthetic biology of the 21st century against a 21st century virus.