Spanish Influenza 1918

Influenza In 1918

        In 1918-1919 during World War I the spread of influenza killed more people in one year then the amount of people killed in four years due to the Bubonic Plague.  Influenza, also known as Spanish Flu, killed between 20-40 million people which was one-fifth of the world’s population. Spanish Flu was named in Spain, after 8 million people died from this disease their in May 1918. The disease was most deadly to the people of the ages 20-40 years old. Other ways to look at the number of people dead is that ten times the people died from the Flu than in WWI, and half of the United States soldiers fell from the Flu, not in battle. The doctors at this time were no use during this epidemic. Children would skip rope singing: I had a little bird, Its name was Enza, I opened the window, and in-flu-enza. The flu infected people from all over the world and shipping ways. It swept through: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Brazil, and the South Pacific. The first case of the flu was in spring 1918 in Kansas and in military camps throughout the United States. It is still unknown how the virus started and there were many predictions; some say because of the gases used during the war and some say it originated in China in a rare genetic shift. They later found that the sheets were not being washed and it became one of the biggest reasons of the spread. Back in 1918 people did not know as much as we do today about germs, cells, and the spread of viruses. The war shipments coming into the U.S. spread the virus back and forth. Most of the physicians were away at war to care for the soldiers wounded and infected by the virus leaving only students to take care of the people back at home. The Red Cross created the National Committee of Influenza and emergency hospitals were being put in place. The public health departments issued everyone to wear gauze masks and stores were forced to close. Funerals were limited to 15 minutes long due to excessive amount of deaths. There was a shortage of coffins, gravediggers, and morticians. Some towns required signed certificates to get in and all railroads did as well.  If these flu ordinances were ignored charges would be pressed and taken very seriously. The war also gave science greater importance and scientists were searching for cures, beginning antiseptic surgeries, and finding vaccines to prevent future flus from spreading.

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