1918 Flu Victim Skeletons Provide New Explanation for the Pandemic’s “W”-Shaped Mortality Curve

One question from the 1918 flu pandemic that intrigued epidemiologists was the shape of its death curve. Most communicable diseases have a U shaped death curve, as the youngest and the oldest members of society have the weakest immune defenses against contagions. However, previous studies found that those who were believed to be young and healthy were equally at risk to pass away from the 1918 flu; as a result, the death curve from the pandemic is shaped like the letter W.

A recent study by anthropologists Amanda Wissler and Sharon DeWitte challenged this narrative. When people are infected with long-term illnesses such as tuberculosis or cancer, tiny bumps develop on their shin bones. In their study, Dr. Wissler and Dr. DeWitte examined the shin bones of 81 people who died in the pandemic and compared their observations to the bones of 288 individuals who died before the pandemic. They found that regardless of age, those whose shin bones indicated that they had a lingering illness were at greater risk of dying during the pandemic.

While the study’s method was confirmed as legitimate, epidemiologists still hold some reservation towards the study’s findings, as the study sample was not randomized. Regardless, the study offers an interesting insight into one of the deadliest pandemics of the 20 century.

by Selina Ma