Flu isn't what killed most in 1918 pandemic

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Flu may not have killed most in 1918 pandemic

Posted 1 hour, 14 minutes Ago
Source: Reuters

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON - Strep infections and not the flu virus itself may have killed most people during the 1918 influenza pandemic, which suggests some of the most dire predictions about a new pandemic may be exaggerated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
The findings suggest that amassing antibiotics to fight bacterial infections may be at least as important as stockpiling antiviral drugs to battle flu, they said.
PHOTO: An emergency hospital at Camp Funston, Kansas, for soldiers sickened by the 1918 flu. (REUTERS/National Museum of Health and Medicine/Armed Forces Institute of Pathology/Handout)
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waterboy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: January 21 2008 Status: Offline Points: 8170	Post Options Post Reply Quote waterboy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Flu isn't what killed most in 1918 pandemic Posted: February 06 2009 at 8:42am
	Flu may not have killed most in 1918 pandemic Posted 1 hour, 14 minutes Ago Source: Reuters By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON - Strep infections and not the flu virus itself may have killed most people during the 1918 influenza pandemic, which suggests some of the most dire predictions about a new pandemic may be exaggerated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. The findings suggest that amassing antibiotics to fight bacterial infections may be at least as important as stockpiling antiviral drugs to battle flu, they said. PHOTO: An emergency hospital at Camp Funston, Kansas, for soldiers sickened by the 1918 flu. (REUTERS/National Museum of Health and Medicine/Armed Forces Institute of Pathology/Handout) TO READ THE REST OF THIS STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE. Join the Global Conversation