SPANISH FLU AND DISEASE PREVENTION: ISU ESSAY
In the fall of 1918, a vicious and deadly virus quickly spread through the entirety of Canada, effecting many healthy young men and women. Killing close to 50 000 Canadians in a single year, the Spanish Influenza is considered to be one of the most fatal pandemics in Canadian history. In 1918, quarantines were not a new concept, but the quality and quantity of quarantines changed impressively during the fight against the Spanish flu. Unlike quarantines, vaccines were a completely new phenomenon; prior to the flu epidemic, there was almost no history of vaccines in Canada. However, quarantines and vaccines were not the only measures Canadians took to prevent the spread of the flu, there were other
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Quarantines first started appearing in Canada during the early 1700s, as ships from Europe came to the land carrying ill passengers. The initial quarantines were very unhygienic and unsanitary; they did not help to cure any of the sick patients. Canadian medical practices were certainly not as advanced then as they are now, scientists and doctors did not understand that isolation without treatment was not going to help the ill. During the time of the Spanish flu, quarantine areas were still very unsanitary, but they were better than those created in the 1700s. Canada’s Department of Agriculture was in charge of Quarantine Service until 1918, but soon after, passed on their responsibilities to the new Department of Health; this department was created after the government realized the severity of the influenza. As the Spanish Flu swept through the nation, quarantines became more and more prevalent, in some cases, entire towns and villages, such as Lethbridge and Drumheller, were …show more content…
Quarantining became a relevant method used to keep a contagious disease in a confined area, rather than allowing it to rapidly spread across a country. Also, vaccines became a popular interest of scientists and doctors looking for cures to various illnesses. But, quarantines and vaccines were not the only prevention methods used to try and eradicate the flu; Canadians also used home remedies, public-humiliation, mask-warnings and public-building closures as a weapon against the pandemic. Learning from the past is the best way to improve in the future. Canadians proved this with an incredible advancement in disease prevention techniques while combating the deadly Spanish Influenza of
VanderBent, S. D. (2009, September). Home Care and Pandemic Flu. In Ontario Home Care Association Bringing Health Care Home. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www.homecareontario.ca/public/docs/publications/position%20papers/2009/Home-Care-and-Pandemic-Flu.pdf
It was a notable fact that by this time [1763] the Ottawas were greatly reduced in numbers from what they were in former times, on account of the small-pox which they brought from Montreal during the French war with Great Britain. This small pox was sold to them shut up in a tin box, with the strict injunction not to open the box on their way homeward, but only when they should reach their country; and that this box contained something that would do them great good, and their people! The foolish people believed really there was something in the box supernatural, that would do them great good. Accordingly, after they reached home they opened the box; but behold there was another tin box inside, smaller. They took it out and opened the second box, and behold, still there was another box inside of the second box, smaller yet. So they kept on this way till they came to a very small box, which was not more than an inch long; and when they opened the last one they found nothing but mouldy particles in this last little box! They wondered very much what it was, and a great many closely inspected to try to find out what it meant. But alas, alas! pretty soon burst out a terrible sickness among them. The great Indian doctors themselves were taken sick and died. The tradition says it was indeed awful and terrible. Every one taken with it was sure to die.
Cannery Row, a small town beside Monterey Bay, resides people from immigrants to outcasts. Most well-known person in Cannery Row would be Doc. He owns the Western Biological Laboratory which has sea-life creatures which he collects. Everyone in Cannery Row is somehow in debt to him, so residents would want to do something nice for him someday. Doc is also the person helps other people if they are sick and he is the most popular person during the influenza outbreak. Doc isn’t the only person who helps during the influenza outbreak. There is an another person who helps only during the influenza outbreak and her name is Dora. Dora is the owner of the Bear Flag Restaurant, located at the left of the vacant lot, is a sporting house where men can
The authors used a historical timeline to introduce a need. Stressing the number of lives lost allows the authors show the importance of vaccines. The repeated emphasis on those lives being the lives of children played on the emotions of readers. Once the need is established Lee and Carson-Dewitt clarify the use of “a dead or mild form of a virus” to create a vaccine (Lee, Carson-Dewitt, 2016, p.2). The distinction of the types of
During the Seven Years War, there was a definite outbreak in the amount of Aboriginals who contracted smallpox. It had been a disease that was around since the beginning of the colonization of North America, but there was a larger immigration of troops from Europe to the colonies at this time. (10) This also correlates to more contact between Aboriginal peoples without the immune system to fight off smallpox and Europeans who were immune to the disease. This was in part because every spring an increasingly large amount of soldiers left for Canadian missions where they would be surrounded by prisoners, opponents and allies alike, most of who were European. Many of the Aboriginals lost their lives because they had not become immune to the
The influenza or flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919, the deadliest in modern history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and estimates place the number of victims anywhere from 25 to 100 million. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. Surprisingly, many flu victims were young, otherwise healthy adults. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain or prevent its spread. In the U.S., citizens were ordered to wear masks, and schools, theaters and other public
--------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Essen, G. A., "The Socio-Economic Impact of Influenza". http://www.eswi.org/Bulletin_October_1997.cfm [2] Frayha, Husn. " Influenza Vaccination: A Call for Action" http://www.kfshrc.edu.sa/annals/176/97-248R.html [3] "Influenza". http://www.caw.ca/whatwedo/health&safety/factsheet/hsfssubstanceno37.asp
I believe that Canada has contributed a lot to the understanding of health and disease over the years. A few examples I have been able to come up with would be the discovery of Insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best in 1921, and Dr. Penfield’s discovery on treating epilepsy using a method called the Montreal Procedure in 1934. George Klein invented the electric wheelchair in 1952, and in. Doctors James E. Till and Ernest A. McCulloch discovered the “hemopoietic stem cell” in 1961, which played a crucial part in the transplantation of bone marrow and treating certain diseases later on. These discoveries have helped to make the world a healthier place. Of course, along with diseases and cures come many more diseases. Third world countries suffer less from diseases such as cancer and diabetes because they do not have an advanced health care like first world countries do.
...ssor Heather MacDougall, “July – 11 November 1918: Pandemic Influenza on the Battlefield and Homefront,” Lecture delivered 9 November, 2011, HIST 191, University of Waterloo
One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.
...influenza pandemic in one way or another; the use of quarantines were extremely prevalent among them. Also, the pandemic is directly responsible for the creation of many health organizations across the globe. The organizations help track and research illnesses across the globe. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, strive to prevent epidemics and pandemics. They also provide a governing body with directives to follow in case an outbreak does occur, and if one shall occur the efforts of organizations across the globe will be crucial for its containment. It is amazing that with modern medicine and proper organization that influenza still manages to make its appearance across the globe annually.
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
The newly industrialized U.S. had also experienced an increase in urbanization that led to a decline in public health and sanitation. Diseases like smallpox and yellow fever quickly began to spread from city to city, taking the lives of innocent citizens. These outbreaks led to an eventual focus on public health and Jenner’s vaccine was distributed to help stop the spread of smallpox. This an example of how far Edward Jenner ideas were spread and the impact he had all over the globe.( Jennifer Stock, Vol 5: Development of a Nation,
“The Site of Origin of The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Its Public Health Implications.” Barry, John. US national Library of Health Medicine, January 20, 2004. Retrieved from:
The Influenza of 1918. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1989. Print Use: I will use this as an extra source to supplement The Great Influenza and get more detailed information about Philadelphia, as well as Sans Francisco if I feel it would be useful. Secondary Furman, Bess. A Profile of the United States Public Health Service 1798-1948.