A 106-year-old man from Delhi, who was four-year-old during the 1918 Spanish Flu, has been now recovered the coronavirus infection.
The 106-year-old has recovered the infectious disease faster than his son, who is in his 70s and has been discharged from Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH). His wife, son and other family members are also admitted in the same coronavirus facility in the national capital after contracting the coronavirus.
“Perhaps, he is the first reported case of COVID-19 in Delhi who also went through the dreaded Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 which like COVID-19 had also ravaged the world. And, he not only recovered from COVID-19, he recovered faster than his son, who is also old,” a senior doctor told PTI.
Spanish Flu, which hit the world 102 years ago, had affect nearly one-third of the global population at that time. According to the Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) in the US, “The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919.”
CDC said that in the United States, the disease was first identified in millitary personnel in 1918, while in India, it is believed that soldiers returning from the first World War conflicts brought the disease.
Doctors at the RGSSH were surprised to see the recovery rate of the man from coronavirus, more so because he is more vulnerable to the virus due to his age.
A senior doctor monitoring his situation said, “We don’t know whether he was affected by the Spanish Flu or not. We haven’t seen much documentation on the situation back then as far as Delhi is concerned, but very few hospitals were there at that time. It is amazing this 106-year-old showed the will power to survive.” All other members of his family have recovered and have been discharged from the facility which has treated 1000 coronavirus patients.
Delhi is the worst hit city in the country with more than 970,000 cases and more than 3,000 deaths reported due to the coronavirus infection.
India has now currently 6,83,240 cases of coronavirus, third highest in the world, followed by Brazil and the United States.