Experts suspect that there could have been a corona pandemic more than 100 years ago
Created: 04/13/2022, 12:44 p.m
By: Momir Takac
Scientists suspect that there was already a corona pandemic at the end of the 19th century.
The Russian flu has striking parallels.
Munich – It is undisputed that there were already corona viruses before the current pandemic.
But a pandemic of similar proportions?
Experts argue about that.
However, an event spanning several years shows striking parallels.
We are talking about the "Russian flu", which was rampant from 1889.
Its existence is documented, also that around a million people fell victim to it.
However, the pathogen is disputed.
There are indications that it was not an influenza pathogen, but a corona virus.
Russian flu caused by coronavirus?
Scientists suspect animal-to-human transmission
"There are studies that suggest that this virus passed to humans around 1890," said Christian Münz, Professor of Viral Immunobiology at the University of Zurich,
spectrum.de
.
Scientists found that the genome of what was then the coronavirus, OC34, resembled a coronavirus found in cattle.
In addition, today's coronavirus is even more similar in a single gene to another virus: a coronavirus circulating in pigs.
In an article in the journal Microbial Biotechnology
, the experts suspect
that there was a genetic exchange, and that is how the new corona virus could have arisen.
Animal-human transmission is also suspected for Sars-CoV-2.
Many similarities between the Russian flu and today's corona pandemic
In addition to the molecular evidence, there are even more parallels.
According to the
Parsons Report
from England, children with the Russian flu - not to be confused with the Russian flu of the 1970s - were less severely ill than adults.
Men were more affected than women, and older people died the most.
There is even talk of loss of taste and smell.
A late 19th century hospital scene.
Reproduction of an original artwork.
(Iconic image) © H.Tschanz-Hofmann/Imago
According to descriptions from that time, some patients also had symptoms long after the infection.
"The lack of concentration, the depression and the anxiety are very reminiscent of what is now called Long Covid symptoms," writes Harald Brüssow, a microbiologist at the Royal University of Leuven, in the
Microbial Biotechnology
article.
Russian flu: The pathogen has not yet been identified
Of course, none of this is proof that the coronavirus caused the Russian flu.
Researchers are still working to identify the exact pathogen.
In the case of the Spanish flu, which is considered the worst pandemic known to mankind to date, experts have succeeded in painstakingly detailed work.
But the course of the pandemic at that time also shows similarities to today.
Between 1889 and 1895 there were sometimes "rather violent waves", said Robert Jütte
spectrum.de
.
According to the medical historian, the world had to deal with the virus until 1900.
"We will have to live with the current one for years to come."
Münz emphasizes that there were no protection options such as vaccinations at the time.
At that time, immunity was only built up through infections.
This lasted for five winters.
"If you have been vaccinated twice today against Sars-CoV-2, have been boosted and survived Omicron again, then you are immunologically where the population was at the end of the pandemic," says Münz.
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