World's oldest man, 111, insists coronavirus is not a patch on 1918 Spanish flu

The recently-crowned world’s oldest man today admitted he is ‘worried’ about the coronavirus – but insists it’s not a patch on the 1918 Spanish flu.

Bob Weighton remembers seeing the crisis start in his youth, after soldiers fighting in World War One returned home and brought the disease with them.

Around a third of the global population was infected with flu in the pandemic, which caused between 50 million and 100 million people to die worldwide.

Bob Weighton, pictured, admits he is concerned by the outbreak of coronavirus and has taken to washing his hands more frequently and using a nailbrush to scrub under his nails

However, Mr Weighton, who still lives on his own in a flat in Alton, Hants, admits the spread of Covid-19 is a threat, and that he has been taking greater care with cleanliness and hygiene since the outbreak.

The 111-year-old, who has lived through both world wars, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the invention of the internet, has taken to washing his hands more frequently and using a nailbrush to scrub under his nails.

‘I’m very worried about coronavirus – everyone should be,’ he said.

SPANISH FLU: THE GLOBAL KILLER MORE DEADLY THAN WW1

The Spanish flu pandemic was a devastating outbreak of influenza which spread around the world in 1918 and 1919.

It affected around 500million people, about a third of the world’s population at the time, and killed more than 50million.

Under-fives and over-65s were particularly badly affected, as well as 20 to 40-year-olds, likely because so many soldiers fighting in the First World War caught it.

The pandemic got its nickname because it first gained mass press attention in Spain, while reporting was restricted in the UK, US, France and Germany to avoid damaging wartime morale.

Experts think the outbreak was so deadly because there was so much international travel of the military, there were no vaccines, and no antibiotics to treat secondary infections triggered by the virus.

Flu can still be deadly but there are effective jabs and medicines to keep it under control in most patients.

‘I should be worried about myself but I’ve lived long enough. But I’m more worried for my children and grandchildren.

‘I’m washing my hands more and using a nailbrush to clean my nails properly. I’m being much more cautious.

‘The numbers of people dying in China is scary.

‘But in Europe and elsewhere, the numbers are still not reaching the millions that died of the Spanish flu.

‘I hope they never do. But you never know how bad the coronavirus will get. You just have to do the best you can and not worry.’

He added: ‘I was only ten at the time of the Spanish flu.

‘I remember hearing stories going round and reading newspaper articles – as I am doing now with the coverage of coronavirus – about people getting the Spanish flu and dying. But luckily I never got it.’

Mr Weighton said he has been lucky to avoid truly serious illnesses during his time. ‘I’ve never been at a point of dying off,’ he added.

‘But I did have a growth on my stomach which could have been serious. I had to have an operation which has left me with only half of my stomach left. That was about 30 years ago.’

Mr Weighton was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, and was the middle child of his three brothers and three sisters.

Some 500 million people were infected with Spanish flu after the pandemic broke out at the end of the First World War. Patients on a hospital ward in Fort Collins, Colorado are pictured here in 1918

He had three children of his own, has 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

He remembers the outbreak of the First World War and as a teenager he trained in marine engineering.

But by the time he qualified in 1925 the shipping industry was in decline and so he headed to Taiwan, where he worked as an English teacher and also met his future wife Agnes.

On the eve of World War II in 1939, Bob and his family attempted to return to the UK by boat, but after arriving in Canada they were informed the war had begun and they were stuck there.

After the attack on Pearl Harbour while Mr Weighton was living in Denver, USA, his knowledge of the Japanese language meant he was recruited by the British Political Warfare Mission.

He deciphered enemy messages and also worked to disrupt the morale of the Japanese to try and help the Americans win their fight.

Mr Weighton recently celebrated his 111th birthday and became the world’s oldest man following the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, from Japan, at the age of 112

After the war, he was finally able to return to England with his wife and three children and spent the rest of his working life as a lecturer in marine engineering at City University in London, until his retirement, aged 65, in 1973.

He and his wife, who passed away in 1997, spent much of their retirement volunteering as marriage counsellors and helping at youth groups in Alton.

Mr Weighton has lived through the reign of five monarchs and seen 26 Prime Ministers come and go from 10 Downing Street.

Remarkably, he had shared the title of Britain’s oldest man with Alf Smith, of Perthshire, as the pair were born on the same day, but Mr Smith died last year.

He became the world’s oldest man two weeks ago, on February 25, following the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, from Japan, at the age of 112.