The Biggest Difference Between Spanish Flu and Coronavirus COVID-19

As the fear of a Coronavirus outbreak sweeps the globe, it’s been compared to the Spanish Flu. But Spanish Flu had one major difference no one mentioned—it attacked the young and healthy including professional athletes

Between January 1918 and December 1920, Spanish Flu infected an estimated 500 Million people and resulted in an estimated 17–100 Million deaths worldwide.

Those numbers mean a quarter of the world’s population got Spanish Flu, and it killed 1–5% of the world’s population. To put it another way, Spanish Flu killed more people than World War One.

In short, Spanish Flu was one of the deadliest epidemics in history, on par with The Black Death of the 1300's.

Industrial Revolution + WW1 + Global Travel = Spread of Spanish Flu

While it may be true that hand sanitizer didn’t exist in 1300 or 1918, the spread of Spanish Flu was unique to the post industrial moment in world history.

To summarize, the spread of Spanish flu is very much attributed to the technological advances brought about during the Industrial Revolution. For the first time in history, mass transportation allowed unprecedented world travel via locomotive, street car, and ocean liner.