The influenza pandemic of 1918 had not only altered the lives of thousands, but the habitual lives of family and work as well. The Spanish Influenza collected more lives than all of the casualties of war in the twentieth century combined. After the disease had swept through the nation, towns that once began their days in lazy, comfortable manners had begun to struggle to get through a single day. What started as a mild neglect of a typical fever or case of chills had escalated and grown at an alarmingly rapid rate to be fearsome and tragic.
The influenza spread through the simplest means of a welcoming handshake, a gentle touch, or the lightest kiss. Anna Milani, a survivor of the disease, solemnly recalled a remorseful memory, “I remember my mother putting a white sheet or a white piece of cloth over his face and they closed the casket” (Kenmer, Influenza 1918). With young and healthy adults diminishing in the hands of the epidemic, children and infants were more than susceptible to the preying disease. Landlords or neighbors reported homes that sheltered the sick in fear that the infection would spread but at the expense of breaking up families and separating loved ones. Tenants attempted to ignore the callings of doctors who darkened their doorsteps because of the callous reality the notice warranted to the public of the illness that lurked within their homes. The greater dread that came with the doctors was that those who were in ailment were to be ordered to the cramped tent hospitals and never to be seen again unless they were cured or dead.
The month of October was one of difficulty and with the war that still raged overseas in Europe, the influenza only added to the chaotic state the nation was in. Medical scientists...
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...ng the deceased on the front porches; from there an open truck made routes through the area and picked up the bodies.
As quickly as it came, the pandemic had ebbed away and disappeared from the population. People had regained their strength and were healthy again; the death tolls had declined and cases were manageable. Businesses started up again and work was plentiful, while schools opened up once more though not all of its students returned. Nonetheless, the morbid memories still linger within the survivors that had suffered losses that live long after the virus had disappeared.
Works Cited
“Influenza 1918.” Producer and Director Robert Kenmer. American Experience. PBS N.P.
PBS.org. Wed. 8 March 2011. DVD. PDF file. Transcript
Bronx, Jane. “Influenza 1918.” One Hundred Great Essays. Ed. Robert Diyanni. 4th Boston:
Longman, 2011. 103-10. Print.
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
“My daddy died in nineteen ought nineteen of the epidemic flu and I never had a thing to do with it. He was buried in Mount Hopewell Baptist Churchyard.” ( pg 949)
It’s the year 2028, and the world we used to know as bright and beautiful is no longer thriving with light. A disease similar to the plague broke out and caused great havoc. Although it may seem like forever ago, sickness spread only a few years ago. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is about a man and his son who fortunately survived this sickness; although they made it, the struggle to keep going is tough. Before most of the population became deceased, people went insane. They started to bomb houses, burn down businesses and towns, and destroy the environment. Anyone who had the disease was bad blood. Many saw it as the end of the world, which in many cases was true.
After reading The Panic Virus, it became evident that this book can in fact be extremely useful. Perhaps people prefer not to educate themselves about vaccination on the grounds that medical language can be dry, confusing, and uninteresting. Perhaps they don’t wish to listen to medical professionals due to the fact that they feel that they have an agenda to protect themselves. Whatever the reason, the need for Mnookin’s The Panic Virus is to provide a strong argument for pro-vaccination that is given by a member of the reader’s peers. Mnookin is not a medical professional, and has no personal gain from defending the medical field; therefore, his argument is ‘by the people, for the people’. Mnookin’s tone throughout the novel also makes The Panic Virus a page-turner. Mnookin uses a tone that is at times formal and factual and at other times snide and informal, engaging the reader with every
The Influenza virus is a unique respiratory viral disease that can have serious economic and social disruption to society. The virus is airborne transmitted through droplets release by coughing or sneezing from an infected person or by touching infected surfaces. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may even result in death. People with the virus usually experience fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain and cough, which can lead to more severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia. People most susceptible to the flu virus are elderly individuals and young children as well as anyone whose health or immune system has been compromise. The most effective way to counteract the influenza virus is to get the flu vaccine which is available by shots or nasal spray before the flu season as well as practicing safe hygiene. (CDC, 2013)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- [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
With such a rapid mortality rate the epidemic lead to many adversities within the various social structures throughout the western world. All social classes were affected, although the lower classes, living together in unhygienic environments, were obviously most vulnerable. Consequently, many medieval people began to isolate themselves away out of fear of infection. Parents fled from their children, husbands left wives, and sick relatives were d...
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.
From the Chelsea Naval Hospital, overlooking the Boston Bay, I sip on a cup of Joe and browse over the Sports Section of the Los Angeles Times. Earlier this month, three Bostonians dropped dead from influenza. In examining the extent of the epidemic, Surgeon-General Blue commented to the Times , "People are stricken on the streets, while at work in factories, shipyards, offices or elsewhere. First there is a chill, then fever with temperature from 101 to 103, headache, backache, reddening and running of the eyes, pains and aches all over the body, and general prostration." I gaze out my window, the sun seems brighter than usual and the town more radiant. It must be the victory, for the threat of death due to influenza is pervasive. Outside, children jump rope. With every skip of the jump rope they chant. "I had a little bird." Skip. "Its name was Enza." Skip. "I opened up the window." Skip. "And in-flu-enza."
...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.
Kolata, Gina. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Cause It. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. Print.
A few years before 1918, in the height of the First World War, a calamity occurred that stripped the globe of at least 50 million lives. (Taubenberger, 1918) This calamity was not the death toll of the war; albeit, some individuals may argue the globalization associated with the First World War perpetuated the persistence of this calamity. This calamity was referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but calling this devastating pestilence the “Spanish Flu” may be a historical inaccuracy, as research and historians suggest that the likelihood of this disease originating in Spain seams greatly improbable. Despite it’s misnomer, the Spanish Flu, or its virus name H1N1, still swept across the globe passing from human to human by exhaled drops of water that contained a deadly strand of RNA wrapped with a protein casing. Individuals who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contents of the protein casing generally developed severe respiratory inflammation, as the Immune system’s own response towards the infected lung cells would destroy much of the lungs, thus causing the lungs to flood with fluids. Due to this flooding, pneumonia was a common cause of death for those infected with Spanish Flu. Due its genetic similarity with Avian Flu, the Spanish Flu is thought to be descended from Avian Flu which is commonly known as “Bird Flu.” (Billings,1997) The Spanish Flu of 1918 has had a larger impact in terms of global significance than any other disease has had because it was the most deadly, easily transmitted across the entire globe, and occurred in an ideal time period for a disease to happen.
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.
In conclusion the virus that had raged its way through Europe was so deadly, virulent and lethal that victims were reported to go to bed healthy and died in their sleep. This disease ripped society apart. This plague has killed many and ruined the lives of others.
Pandemics cause an increase in medicine and the health care industry. When a pandemic outbreak occurs hospitals are overflowing, and researchers are hard at work searching for a cure. The Spanish Flu was no different. Doctors stated they were too busy trying to fight the disease to record the overflow of patients. Drug stores businesses increased during the Spanish Flu while other businesses were failing. Hospitals were so overcrowded that other buildings had to be converted into hospitals. Although the health care industry was booming; it suffered shortages of workers just like other industries, when the physicians themselves contracted the flu. Due to the shortage of physicians some hospitals were staffed with medical school students.