1977 Russian flu
Influenza pandemic / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1977 Russian flu was an influenza pandemic that was first reported by the Soviet Union in 1977 and lasted until 1979.[1][2] The outbreak in northern China started in May 1977, slightly earlier than that in the Soviet Union.[3][4] The pandemic mostly affected a population younger than 25 or 26 years of age,[1][5][6] and was described as mild.[6] It was caused by an H1N1 flu strain which highly resembled a virus strain circulating worldwide from 1946 to 1957.[1][2][5][6] Genetic analysis and several unusual characteristics of the 1977 Russian flu have prompted many researchers to say that the virus was released to the public through a laboratory accident,[4][5][7][8][9][10] or resulted from a live-vaccine trial escape.[5][11]