Frail people and those with preexisting conditions were most likely to die from the 1918 flu — not young, healthy adults as once believed, a study of the victims' skeletons suggests.
The phylogenetic results, combined with these other lines of evidence, suggest that the high mortality in 1918 among adults aged ∼20 to ∼40 y may have been due primarily to their childhood exposure to a doubly heterosubtypic putative H3N8 virus, which we estimate circulated from ∼1889–1900. All other age groups (except immunologically naive infants) were likely partially protected by childhood exposure to N1 and/or H1-related antigens.
The Spanish flu apparently had the N1 complex present, to which the 20-40y population wasn’t exposed. At least that’s my limited understanding after skimming the paper.
The Spanish flu apparently had the N1 complex present, to which the 20-40y population wasn’t exposed. At least that’s my limited understanding after skimming the paper.