Past Pandemics

Lessons from Past Outbreaks Could Help Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic

The 1918 influenza pandemic and 2002–2003 SARS outbreak suggest social distancing measures, communication and international cooperation are the most effective methods to slow COVID-19

• By Sara Goudarzi on March 23, 2020

Emergency flu hospital, staffed by U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen, that was set up in San Francisco to help care for those stricken by the influenza outbreak in 1918. Credit: Getty Images

On March 11 the World Health Organization officially designated the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Defined as the worldwide spread of a new disease, such a declaration is the first to be made since the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. As of this writing, there have been approximately 336,000 confirmed cases of the new disease, called COVID-19, resulting in more than 14,600 deaths worldwide.

Although a coronavirus—a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—had not previously triggered a pandemic, this is not the first time we have seen the global transmission of a serious disease. Studying past outbreaks can help scientists better estimate the trajectory of COVID-19 and identify the best measures to slow its spread./.../