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United States enters World War I. U.S. life expectancy is 54 years of age for women and 48 years of age for men.
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Spring and fall waves of influenza (”flu”) activity cause the average life expectancy in the United States to fall by 12 years.
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First case of Spanish flu was discovered. It was found in an american who was a World War I veteran living in Kansas
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Third wave of pandemic flu activity occurs. Pandemic subsides, but virus (H1N1) continues to circulate seasonally for 38 years.
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First isolation of influenza, proving that flu is caused by a virus not a bacterium.
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H2N2 flu virus emerges to trigger a pandemic, replacing the 1918 H1N1 pandemic virus.
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The U.S. Public Health Service recommends annual flu vaccination for people at high risk of serious flu complications.
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H3N2 flu virus emerges to trigger a pandemic, replacing H2N2 virus.
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Genome of the 1918 pandemic flu virus is fully sequenced.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) was informed of cases of unknown etiology detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
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Chinese state media reported the first known death from an illness caused by the novel Corona virus, a 61-year-old from Wuhan who had underlying health conditions.
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The WHO declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern".
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Dr Li Wenliang, a Chinese medic who tried to warn about the virus, died from coronavirus.
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The US reported its first death from COVID-19, a man in his 50s with an underlying health condition.
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The WHO warned of "severe and mounting disruption" to the global supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), putting the lives of healthcare workers at risk.
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The WHO declared a pandemic
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Boris Johnson announced an immediate nationwide 'lockdown' for at least 3 weeks. The WHO's director general said the COVID-19 pandemic "is accelerating". GPs send letters to around 1.5 million people most vulnerable to COVID-19 asking them to self-isolate for the next 12 weeks.
