Italian man, 101, born during Spanish flu pandemic, recovers from coronavirus

A 101-year-old man who was born during the Spanish flu pandemic which killed millions has reportedly recovered from coronavirus. 

The man, from Rimini in north-east Italy, was born in 1919 as the world was grappling with the pandemic which killed 50million people. 

And he has now been released from hospital after becoming one of the oldest people in the world to recover from coronavirus, according to reports.

A 101-year-old man who was born during the Spanish flu pandemic which killed millions has reportedly recovered from coronavirus. Pictured: Members of the Red Cross hold stretchers in St Louis, Missouri, during the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918

Gloria Lisi, the deputy mayor of Rimini, said the man, who she identified only as Mr P, was released from hospital earlier this week and returned to his family. 

His recovery comes despite the virus being particularly dangerous for the elderly and those with health problems. 

According to Italy’s National Institute of Health, nearly 86 per cent of deaths among those with coronavirus occurred in patients older than 70.   

Italy has been particularly badly affected by the virus. The country has had more than 86,000 cases – second only to the US – and 9,134 people have died.  

The man, from Rimini (pictured) in north-east Italy, was born in 1919 as the world was grappling with the pandemic which killed 50million people

The man, from Rimini (pictured) in north-east Italy, was born in 1919 as the world was grappling with the pandemic which killed 50million people

Ms Lisi said Mr P was taken to hospital last week and then tested positive for COVID-19. 

According to the ANSA news agency, she said: ‘He made it. Mr. P. made it.’

She added that Mr P has seen ‘everything’ in his life, including ‘war, hunger, pain, progress, crisis and resurrections.’ 

Spanish flu attacked more than one third of the world’s population and within three months had killed three times as many as those who died in the First World War. 

While most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients, the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults.

The oldest person to recover from coronavirus is 103-year-old Zhang Guangfen, a woman living in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started. 

The news of Mr P’s recovery comes after the death toll from coronavirus in Italy surged by 919 on Friday to the current official figure of 9,134.   

Prior to Friday’s figure, the largest daily toll was registered on March 21, when 793 people died.

The man (not pictured) has now been released from hospital after becoming one of the oldest people in the world to recover from coronavirus, according to reports. Pictured: An elderly man wears a face mask while walking in downtown Padua, northern Italy, on Saturday

The man (not pictured) has now been released from hospital after becoming one of the oldest people in the world to recover from coronavirus, according to reports. Pictured: An elderly man wears a face mask while walking in downtown Padua, northern Italy, on Saturday

The 919 people who died on Friday compares with 712 deaths on Thursday, 683 on Wednesday, 743 on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.

There have now been more cases in Italy’s than in China.

The United States already surpassed China’s tally of cases on Thursday.

The news of Mr P's recovery comes after the death toll from coronavirus in Italy surged by 919 on Friday to the current official figure of 9,134

The news of Mr P’s recovery comes after the death toll from coronavirus in Italy surged by 919 on Friday to the current official figure of 9,134

In Italy, of those originally infected nationwide, 10,950 had fully recovered on Friday, compared to 10,361 the day before. There were 3,732 people in intensive care against a previous 3,612.

The hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy reported a steep rise in fatalities compared with the day before and remains in a critical situation, with a total of 5,402 deaths and 37,298 cases.

That compared with 4,861 deaths and 34,889 cases reported up to Thursday. 

THE 1918 FLU OUTBREAK – THE WORST THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN

The deadly flu virus attacked more than one-third of the world’s population, and within months had killed more than 50 million people – three times as many as World War I – and did it more quickly than any other illness in recorded history.

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients; in contrast the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults.

Red Cross volunteers fighting against the Spanish flu epidemic  in United States in 1918

Red Cross volunteers fighting against the Spanish flu epidemic  in United States in 1918

To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, Britain, France, and the United States.

However, newspapers were free to report the epidemic’s effects in Spain, creating a false impression of Spain as being especially hard hit – and leading to the pandemic’s nickname Spanish flu.

The close quarters and massive troop movements of World War I hastened the pandemic and probably both increased transmission and augmented mutation, researchers believe.

The global mortality rate from the 1918/1919 pandemic is not known, but an estimated 10% to 20% of those who were infected died, with estimates of the total number of deaths ranging from 50-100 million people.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk