Scientists suspect the coronavirus caused the 1889 Russian flu

For a group of researchers, there are many similarities between the current Covid-19 pandemic and the “Russian flu”. For example, some infected people report a loss of taste and smell after infection, as well as other atypical flu symptoms. Because of these many “coincidences”, scientists are investigating whether the deadly 1889 flu was actually caused by the coronavirus and not the influenza virus.

The idea that the coronavirus is the cause of the “Russian flu” is “a very exciting speculation,” according to University of Michigan professor Arnold Montau in a conversation with The New York Times. Science questions the origin of coronaviruses and whether other pandemics have been caused by this family of pathogens.

In the same logic, Scott Podolsky, a professor at Harvard Medical School, considers the hypothesis “reasonable,” but there is still a lack of evidence to prove the alleged relationship between coronaviruses and the “Russian flu.”

Are there more corona viruses?

When you think of Coronavirus (CoV), The names of the most closely related diseases are COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).. However, CoVs constitute a large viral family, have been described since the mid-1960s, and generally cause respiratory infections to varying degrees in humans and animals.

In fact, people tend to be infected with common coronaviruses throughout their lives. “The most common types affecting humans are Alpha coronary 229E, NL63, Beta coronary OC43, and HKU1,” explains the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (SBMT), in a note.

If the hypothesis about the origin of the “Russian flu” is correct, it is possible that the coronavirus responsible for the epidemic must, to this day, live among humans, but without causing the damage it did at the time.

Similarities between influenza and covid

In May 1889, the inhabitants of Bukhara – a city that was part of the Russian Empire – began to fall ill and die under mysterious circumstances. The disease known as “Russian flu” has spread to other parts of the world – such as Europe, North America and Brazil – and has been linked to a higher death rate among the elderly. Scientists at the time assumed that the cause was the influenza virus.

Reports from that period indicate the closure of schools and factories due to the high number of infected people, which is considered completely abnormal to deal with infection. In addition, some patients claimed that they had lost the ability to taste and smell. Finally, some cases of fatigue and persistent tiredness have been reported. At least three waves of the disease have infected the world.

If the name “Russian flu” were changed to covid-19, the report would look a lot like what the world has been seeing since late 2019, when the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China. In fact, some of the symptoms are very similar and do not resemble typical flu plaques. However, at the moment, this relationship is purely speculative.

Research on the origin of the Russian flu

The point is that there is no scientific evidence that the “Russian flu” is caused by the coronavirus, as only reports from that time have been analyzed and compared to the current epidemiological situation of covid-19. The researchers are now looking to identify the most consistent clues that might support this assumption.

Two British researchers, Jeffrey Toubenberger and John Oxford, investigated preserved lung tissue samples that predated the 1918 influenza pandemic – the famous Spanish flu. The idea is to check if there are still bits of influenza viruses or other coronaviruses in these samples.

In addition to these, two North Americans, Scott Podolsky and Dominic W. Hall, analyzed preserved lung tissue from the same period. In this way, it is possible for society to discover, in the coming months or years, that other epidemics caused by the Corona virus have already confronted the human race (or not).

source: New York timesAnd Science alert e SBMT