A new flu pandemic will kill 81 million people around the world?

According to a new US study published in ' The Lancet ', if a dangerous virus similar to the 1918 Spanish flu virus appeared again today, it could be fatal to 81 million. people in the world.

The study is based on the death rate from 51 million to 81 million people with an estimated average of 62 million people. To achieve these figures, Dr. Chris Murray and Harvard University colleagues reviewed all death records from 1914 to 1923 in 27 countries, especially from 24 US states and 9 provinces. in India.

The researchers then compared the number of deaths in a pandemic to the average of those who died before and after the pandemic, and then applied these data to people around the world since 2004.

They were surprised to find major losses in these regions with a change in mortality rates between 1 and 30%. 96% of the deaths come from developing countries. This data demonstrates that the virus genome alone cannot explain the number of deaths in a region. Identifying different weaknesses can help avoid a similar disaster in the future.

Facing the threat of the H5N1 virus that causes bird flu and in late 2003, the international community planned to fight infection.

Medication systems improved over the last century, antiviral and antibiotic drugs that were not available in 1918, can help fight diseases more effectively. However, developing countries do not have access to these advances.

The 1918 flu pandemic killed at least 40 million people worldwide
(Photo: kikomusic)