Influenza 1918 Vaccine

About Influenza 1918 Vaccine

During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed tens of millions of people, no effective vaccine existed. Scientists did not yet know that influenza was caused by a virus. Several bacterial vaccines were developed targeting Pfeiffers bacillus Haemophilus influenzae, mistakenly believed to be the cause. These vaccines were ineffective. The 1918 pandemic motivated research into influenza virology. The influenza virus was first isolated in 1933 by Smith, Andrewes, and Laidlaw at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. The first practical influenza vaccines were developed during World War II. The failure to develop a vaccine during the 1918 pandemic remains a cautionary tale about the importance of basic virology research and pandemic preparedness. The 1918 pandemic also demonstrated how infectious diseases could kill more people than world wars in a matter of months.