Lessons from the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu Pandemic in Africa

“While both the pandemic of 1918 and COVID-19 are respiratory diseases largely spread through the air by coughing or sneezing, the two pandemics are different in important ways. The H1N1 influenza strain of 1918 had a very short incubation period—just 1 to 2 days—whereas the coronavirus incubation can stretch up to 2 weeks, and its spread is facilitated by asymptomatic carriers.”