by Ethel Smith

Created on: November 24, 2009

Personal Experience

I was seventeen years old in 1969 and a victim of Hong Kong flu. The flu had taken hold of various countries in 1968 and by 1969 was prevalent in the UK. As a healthy, young individual not much made me take to my bed, but this flu gave me little choice. In fact I did not make it to my bed.

I was meeting with a friend in the town and set off to walk the 15 minute journey to the town. I felt fine when I left home but by the time I reached the town, I felt so very ill. My good friend walked with me back home and I flopped onto my Mum's sofa. That is where I stayed for aroundtwo weeks as I was unable to move much and was generally delirious.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Hong Kong flu include a high fever, severe joint pain, a runny nose, severe cough, fatigue, and eye irritation. It is highly contagious and isolation is recommended. As with many forms of flu the most vulnerable group of people this flu will affect are, the very young or very old and those who have a chronic illness.

Hong Kong Flu 1968

Hong Kong flu was a virus subtype that was called H3N2. These days we are used to hearing such terms as the reports of bird and then swine flu have unfolded. H3N2 can also affect various animals including pigs, birds and human beings. This virus mutated and became the Hong Kong Flu virus.

This strain of influenza was given its name as it was first detected in Hong Kong in 1968. Although there were a considerable amount of deaths world wide these were not as great as feared. These days it is generally thought this was because the fifties had seen outbreaks of Asian Flu which had enabled people to build up some immunity.

Although Hong Kong Flu was a pandemic it was one the least devastating of the 20th Century. Spanish Flu, for instance, which occurred in the early part of the 20th century killed far more people around the world. In western countries such as the USA the timing of the flu outbreak was one of the factors which minimised the casualties. The Hong Kong flu outbreak was late in the season and most schoolchildren were already on their Christmas holidays. Children are notorious for spreading infections to all and sundry and the school holidays helped stop the spread of the flu.

By the time that the Hong Kong Flu was at pandemic status it was the late sixties and the use of antibiotics was widely available. These helped with the symptoms, and additional health problems, that the flu can bring to patients.

In 2009 we lookset to face the first flu pandemic since the Hong Kong flu of the late sixties. Swine flu will present a whole new load of problems but with improvements in medicine the vast majority of people will hopefully survive well.

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