A 106-year-old Delhi resident, who was a four-year-old during the 1918 Spanish Flu, has recuperated from Covid-19 faster than his son who is in his 70s, as per media reports.
Spanish flu was a pandemic that hit the world 102 years ago and affected nearly one-third of the global population at that time.
The patient was recently discharged from the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH). His family, including his wife, son and another member, also recovered from the virus.
"Perhaps he is the first reported case of Covid-19 in Delhi who also went through the dreaded Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which like Covid-19 had also ravaged the world. And, he not only recovered from Covid-19, he recovered faster than his son, who is also old," a senior doctor was quoted as saying in an NDTV report.
Doctors at the RGSSH, a dedicated Covid-19 facility, were surprised to see the person recuperating from the disease so quickly even when he did not demonstrate mild symptoms initially. "We don't know whether he was affected by the Spanish flu or not. We haven't seen much documentation on the situation back then as far as Delhi is concerned, but very few hospitals were there at that time. It is amazing this 106-year-old showed the will power to survive," said a senior doctor who gave him care.
"He lived through two pandemics," the doctor added.
The RGSSH has treated 1,000 Covid-19 patients so far.
According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 was particularly virulent and killed an estimated 40 million people worldwide.