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1957–1958 influenza pandemic

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1957–1958 influenza pandemic
Sick people in Sweden in a stadium that has been made into a hospital
DiseaseInfection
Virus strainInfluenza H2N2 virus
LocationWorldwide
DateFebruary 1957-1958 (Possible 1959)

The 1957-58 influenza pandemic, also called Asian flu was a time when many people caught H2N2 influenza A and became sick. Westerners first learned about this influenza when it was in Singapore. It killed 1.1 million people.[1]

The influenza virus that caused the pandemic had an HA antigen and NA antigen that scientists had never seen before, so they named it "H2N2."[2]

The 1957 influenza pandemic was the first time scientists truly studied how influenza could move through large groups of people who had not had vaccines that worked against it yet.[2]

References

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  1. "1957-1958 Pandemic (H2N2 virus)". United States Centers for Disease Control. 22 January 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Edwin D. Kilbourne (2006). "Influenza Pandemics of the 20th Century". Emerg Infect Dis. 12 (1): 9–14. doi:10.3201/eid1201.051254. PMC 3291411. PMID 16494710.