Changes

Researchers still debate the exact origin of the pandemic but it was first reported in May 1889 in Bukhara, Russia, which led to the pandemic eventually being called the 'Russian' Flu or 'Asiatic Flu'. It had spread to Saint Petersburg by November 1889and it is at this point the virus began to rapidly spread. By December 1st, the flu had probably developed into a pandemic. By then, deaths were spiking in Saint PeterrsburgPetersburg where it was evident the flu was abnormal relative to most years. During the winter of 1889-1890 it spread throughout the northern hemisphere through modern rail and sea transport. By December 1889 and into January 1890, most of Europe and North America had begun to show cases of the flu. By the time it reached the levels of a major flu outbreak, it only took a few weeks to spread in most developed countries. In total, it took about five 5 weeks for the first cases in major cities to be reported and peak mortality. Recent research has suggested the strain that caused this flu pandemic is H3N8, which is mostly an equine influenza, suggesting that it could have originated from horses, mules, or related animals that created this flu. What stood out to doctors and researchers at the time is how the flu spread quickly and it often followed the main rail lines across Europe and North America. The was the first major flu pandemic doctors could follow using maps and daily news reports. While the virus spread to most places on the planet by the spring of 1890, its spread inland was mainly facilitated by the railthat was most developed in Europe and North America. Many have now called this the first modern pandemic given the nature of how the flu spread, following major transport arteries, similar to modern pandemics (Figure 1). Mapping the spread of the virus showed how modern transport played an important role in its spread.<ref>For more on the 1889-1890 pandemic, see: Hays JN (2005) <i>Epidemics and Pandemics: Their Impacts on Human History</i>. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. </ref>