Medical Dictionary

Spanish flu

noun Span·ish flu\ˈspan-ish-\

Medical Definition of SPANISH FLU

:  influenza that is caused by a subtype (H1N1) of the orthomyxovirus causing influenza A and that was responsible for about 500,000 deaths in the United States in the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919—called also Spanish influenza; compare asian flu, hong kong flu

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