Article
History
Michail Raftakis
Summary: The 1918-19 influenza pandemic was the most lethal pandemic in contemporary history. Exceptionally high mortality levels were also found in Hermoupolis during the 1918 pandemic. Mortality increased within every age group, with young adults and adults experiencing the largest excess mortality.
SOCIAL HISTORY OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Livia V. Patrono, Bram Vrancken, Matthias Budt, Ariane Duex, Sebastian Lequime, Sengul Boral, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Jan F. Gogarten, Luisa Hoffmann, David Horst, Kevin Merkel, David Morens, Baptiste Prepoint, Jasmin Schlotterbeck, Verena J. Schuenemann, Marc A. Suchard, Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Luisa Tenkhoff, Christian Urban, Navena Widulin, Eduard Winter, Michael Worobey, Thomas Schnalke, Thorsten Wolff, Philippe Lemey, Sebastien Calvignac-Spencer
Summary: The 1918 influenza pandemic had a significant impact on the genomic make-up of subsequent human influenza A viruses, and the analysis of 1918 IAV genomes revealed diversity consistent with local transmission and long-distance dispersal. Variations in the nucleoprotein gene were found before and during the pandemic peak, suggesting possible adaptation of the 1918 IAV to humans. This study provides valuable insights into the origin and evolution of the 1918 influenza pandemic.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Economics
Brian Beach, Karen Clay, Martin Saavedra
Summary: This article reviews the global health and economic consequences of the 1918 influenza pandemic, focusing on topics that have gained renewed interest due to COVID-19. It provides an overview of key contextual and epidemiological details, as well as available data. The effects on mortality, fertility, and the economy in the short and medium term are examined, with a discussion on the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions. The article also explores the long-lasting health consequences and their impact on human capital accumulation and socioeconomic status, highlighting important areas for future research.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Gregori Galofre-Vila, Martin McKee, Maria Gomez-Leon, David Stuckler
Summary: The evidence linking past health deterioration and support for radical political views has raised concerns about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic, with 4.1 million Italians contracting influenza and about 500,000 deaths, may have contributed to the rise of Fascism in Italy. Historical text mining of Mussolini's newspaper provided further support for the belief that worsening mortality rates can fuel radical politics, while the unequal impacts of pandemics may contribute to political polarization.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Jennifer Summers, Amanda Kvalsvig, Lucy Telfar Barnard, Julie Bennett, Matire Harwood, Nick Wilson, Michael G. Baker
Summary: Exploring the COVID-19 response in New Zealand and comparing it to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic reveals significant improvements in terms of strategic direction, elimination strategy, border restrictions, vaccination rollout, and central government support. However, the lessons from 1918-19 regarding the prevention of inequities among social groups were not fully learned, as demonstrated by the ongoing unequal health outcomes in New Zealand.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
David M. Morens, Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Anthony S. Fauci
Summary: Despite being caused by different viruses, the influenza pandemic of 1918 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2021 share similarities in clinical, pathological, and epidemiological features, as well as in responses from civic, public health, and medical sectors. By comparing and contrasting the two pandemics, we have learned valuable lessons over the span of a century and are applying them to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Lauren E. Stone
Summary: In the early twentieth century, early neurosurgical pioneers faced personal and professional losses but persevered to push neurosurgery towards modernity, which serves as a reflection point for the specialty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
WORLD NEUROSURGERY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Svetlana Kolesnichenko, Irina A. Kadyrova, Alyona Lavrinenko, Zhibek A. Zhumadilova, Olga Avdienko, Yelena V. Vinogradskaya, Yevgeniy A. Fominykh, Lyudmila G. Panibratec, Lyudmila L. Akhmaltdinova
Summary: A cohort study conducted in Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic found that low birth weight, gestational age, and comorbidities were associated with negative outcomes in infants with neonatal sepsis. Additionally, more than half of the newborns tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rashmi Dixit, Fleur Webster, Robert Booy, Robert Menzies
Summary: Indigenous Australians had higher rates of influenza infection and severity compared to non-Indigenous Australians, and this difference persisted among those with a chronic condition. However, there was no further increase in the prevalence of severe influenza outcomes among Indigenous Australians with a chronic condition.
Article
Economics
Francois R. Velde
Summary: This study finds that the impact of the epidemic on the economy was short and moderate compared to the recession of 1920/21. The epidemic had a sharp but brief effect on labor supply, with no subsequent spill-overs. The majority of the recession, despite its brevity, was attributed to the end of the war. Interventions to hinder the contagion reduced mortality with little economic cost, likely due to reduced infections mitigating the impact on the labor force.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
(2022)
Article
Economics
Sergio Galletta, Tommaso Giommoni
Summary: We estimate that the 1918 influenza pandemic had an impact on income inequality in Italian municipalities. The more severely affected municipalities experienced higher levels of income inequality in the short and medium term, primarily due to an increase in the income share held by the rich at the expense of other strata of the population.
REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
(2022)
Article
Economics
Richard Franke
Summary: This paper provides a detailed analysis of excess mortality during the 'Spanish Flu' in a developing German economy and explores the impact of poverty and air pollution on pandemic mortality. The study finds that middle- and high-income areas experienced a significantly lower increase in mortality rates compared to low-income areas. Furthermore, highly polluted areas had a significantly higher mortality rate during the 1918 influenza pandemic compared to the least polluted areas.
ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Business, Finance
Wenxuan Hou, Mao Li, Brian G. M. Main, Xiaofan Liu
Summary: This study examines the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on present-day financial development. The findings suggest that regions with higher historical death rates are associated with lower levels of trust, leading to financial obstacles for firms and decreased use of credit cards and mortgages by households.
JOURNAL OF CORPORATE FINANCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeremy R. Keown, Zihan Zhu, Loic Carrique, Haitian Fan, Alexander P. Walker, Itziar Serna Martin, Els Pardon, Jan Steyaert, Ervin Fodor, Jonathan M. Grimes
Summary: Influenza A viruses cause significant burdens to healthcare systems through seasonal epidemics and global pandemics. The viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase plays a central role in the replication cycle of influenza viruses and is a potential target for antiviral development. By characterizing the inhibitory effect of nanobodies on the 1918 pandemic influenza virus polymerase complex, sensitive sites interfering with polymerase activity in vitro were identified, suggesting them as effective targets for potential influenza antiviral development.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Charles Guesneau, Anne Sophie Boureau, Celine Bourigault, Gilles Berrut, Didier Lepelletier, Laure de Decker, Guillaume Chapelet
Summary: This study found that in older patients aged 75 and over, older age, lower ADL score, and higher SOFA score were associated with death within 30 days after influenza diagnosis. Early initiation of oseltamivir treatment was independently associated with survival.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
G. Dennis Shanks, Chansuda Wongsrichanalai
Summary: Tropical alluvial gold and gem miners are a high-risk group for malaria infection, particularly due to their mobility and lack of access to healthcare services. The informal nature of their work and emerging drug resistance further exacerbate the problem. Mining-associated malaria poses a threat to malaria elimination efforts.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: Indigenous and aboriginal peoples of the Americas and Pacific died at high rates from respiratory infections after joining the global pathogen pool in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. This was not a result of selection process, but rather due to epidemiological isolation during childhood, resulting in lack of immunity to respiratory pathogens.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: Lethal respiratory epidemics have plagued Papua New Guinea since the 19th century, largely attributed to influenza and often worsened by secondary bacterial pneumonias. In 1969, an outbreak of H3N2 influenza and subsequent pneumococcal pneumonias in PNG was met with a major deployment of the Australian Defence Force, highlighting the ongoing role of Australia in vaccination efforts in the country.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
G. Dennis Shanks, Michael Waller
Summary: A study using hospital records from the Korean War found that blood transfusion was a risk factor for relapse of vivax malaria. This may be due to increased heme delivery to the liver, which activates dormant parasites and leads to relapse of vivax malaria.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: Blackwater fever is a haemolytic syndrome associated with malaria and the use of quinine chemoprophylaxis. Its occurrence significantly decreased when quinine was no longer used for malaria prevention. The exact etiology of blackwater fever remains poorly understood. It represents classical tropical medicine and its history is documented in Australian medical literature, particularly in relation to the colonial development of Papua New Guinea.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Rebecca Webster, Hayley Mitchell, Jenny M. Peters, Juanita Heunis, Brighid O'Neill, Jeremy Gower, Sean Lynch, Helen Jennings, Fiona H. Amante, Stacey Llewellyn, Louise Marquart, Adam J. Potter, Geoffrey W. Birrell, Michael D. Edstein, G. Dennis Shanks, James S. McCarthy, Bridget E. Barber
Summary: A single low dose of tafenoquine can effectively reduce the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum parasites to mosquitoes, although there is a delay in its effect.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: Casualties during the occupation of German New Guinea were limited, with only six dead in initial armed clashes and loss of a submarine. Diseases like dengue and malaria affected most soldiers, causing infections and deaths. Skin diseases and diarrhea were also major concerns. Overall, 27 non-combat deaths over 4 years were considered acceptable for a force mainly consisting of unfit men. It highlights the importance of protecting non-immune soldiers or travelers going to Papua New Guinea.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: Singapore surrendered to the Japanese invasion in February 1942 after the collapse of its water supply. An emergency typhoid immunisation campaign was then initiated using locally manufactured vaccine, which successfully prevented a post-surrender typhoid fever epidemic. Disrupted supply chains during public health crises may increase the importance of locally manufactured vaccines in the future.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Geoffrey W. Birrell, Karin Van Breda, Bridget Barber, Rebecca Webster, James S. McCarthy, G. Dennis Shanks, Michael D. Edstein
Summary: Analytical methods have been validated for quantifying the antimalarial drug tafenoquine (TQ) and its metabolite 5,6-orthoquinone tafenoquine (5,6-OQTQ) in human blood, plasma, and urine. These methods involve sample extraction followed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The calibration ranges and precision for TQ and 5,6-OQTQ in blood, plasma, and urine are reported, along with the correlation between TQ urine concentrations and parasite recrudescence times.
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
G. Dennis Shanks
Summary: The U.S. Civil War predates modern understanding of malaria, but it was still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in soldiers. Civil War-era descriptions of malaria may appear contradictory to modern readers, but there are reasonable explanations for these paradoxes that acknowledge the astute clinical observations made during that time.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Bridget E. Barber, Azrin N. Abd-Rahman, Rebecca Webster, Adam J. Potter, Stacey Llewellyn, Louise Marquart, Nischal Sahai, Indika Leelasena, Geoffrey W. Birrell, Michael D. Edstein, G. Dennis Shanks, David Wesche, Joerg J. Moehrle, James S. McCarthy
Summary: A single oral dose of tafenoquine is effective against blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum infection, but prior screening for glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is necessary due to the estimated dose required to clear asexual parasitaemia being >= 460 mg (in adults).
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
George Dennis Shanks
Summary: Immunisation is the best defence against biological agents in armed conflict, but there have been exceptions where vaccines were ineffective or even caused epidemics. The use of contaminated yellow fever vaccine led to a hepatitis B epidemic in the US military in 1942. German soldiers were deliberately infected with typhoid in 1941, targeting those who were unlikely to be immunised. Immunisation against biowarfare agents has had mixed results, highlighting the limitations of vaccines in addressing intelligence gaps.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. D. Shanks
Summary: Undifferentiated febrile diseases in northern Queensland were eventually identified as scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted rickettsial infection. Scrub typhus became a major threat during World War II and killed more Australian soldiers than malaria. It was later found to be an occupational disease in rural workers in north Queensland, but its presence in the civilian community remains largely unknown.
INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. D. Shanks
Summary: Special Forces cannot afford losses from infectious diseases due to their high level of training. Malaria often determined the extent of special operations during World War II, but chemoprophylaxis remains the best preventive intervention to keep soldiers free of malaria symptoms, and improvement in drug regimens is still needed.
JOURNAL OF MILITARY AND VETERANS HEALTH
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
G. D. Shanks
Summary: Despite being greatly feared historically, cholera has not been present in recent ADF military operations. However, in 2010, United Nations Peacekeepers from Nepal were linked to introducing cholera into post-earthquake Haiti. During the construction of the Thai-Burma railway in 1943, the collapse of field sanitation led to lethal cholera epidemics among Allied Prisoners of War (POW). Different factors, such as malnutrition-induced hypochlorhydria, ABO blood type, and lack of knowledge about oral rehydration therapy, might have played a role in the POW camps.
JOURNAL OF MILITARY AND VETERANS HEALTH
(2022)