ASIAN INFLUENZA AND MITRAL STENOSIS

Abstract

Although the viral etiology of influenza was established in 1933 by Smith, Andrewes, and Laidlaw,¹the exact mechanisms responsible for the numerous deaths during the 1918-1919 pandemic remain uncertain. During that time, pneumonia, from which bacterial pathogens were cultured, was found in almost every autopsied case.²But even after the discovery of the causative agent, there was difference of opinion as to whether death in the fatal cases was always caused by secondary bacterial invaders.³The following report illustrates a case of Asian influenza that rapidly terminated in death despite intensive use of antibiotics. Cultures and smears made from lung tissue failed to demonstrate any bacteria, but the Asian influenza virus was recovered. The case is also of interest because mitral stenosis may have contributed to the fatal pulmonary disorder even though the valvular lesion, by itself, did not limit the patient's physical activity before the final