Deadly Spanish flu is not really Spanish it was just called Spanish Flu because the most reliable news about it came out of Spain. As a neutral country in WWI the Spanish were more open about the devestating effects of this killer strain of flu.

Global estimates of the death toll in 1918 range from the 40 million mark to 100 million across the globe. Fiji was reputed to have lost 14% of its poulation in 8 days.

Spanish flu was not well known being overshadowed as it was by the Great War but put into context gloablly it makes the current Swine Flu pandemic look like a bit of a sniffle.