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.
However it is rationalized, fifty million people, thirty million people, and even twenty million people is an enormously huge a...
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...ll pandemics. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006 Jan.
“The Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” Billings, Molly. Stanford University Virology. June 1, 1997. retrieved from http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
“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:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC340389/
“The Spanish Flu Epidemic Begins: March 11, 1918." Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History. Ed. Jennifer Stock. Vol. 6: North America. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2013. World History in Context. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
“Flu Studies Point to Isolation for Prevention." Morning Edition 3 Apr. 2007. World History in Context. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
“1918 Killer Flu Reconstructed.” Knox, Richard. National Public Radio, October 5, 2005
This Radiolab podcast talks about how the HIV/AIDS epidemic started: the ultimate patient zero story, a very recent event that still hurts and still bleeds.
You woke up a week ago feeling odd. You were not sure what was wrong, but your body was full of aches, you felt hot to the touch, and you kept vomiting. Your mother told you to lay down and rest, hoping it was just a cold. After a few days, you began to feel better, well enough that you wanted to return to the river to watch the trade ships come in. Now, unfortunately, your symptoms have come back with a vengeance – your fever is back along with intense abdominal pain, your mouth is bleeding without being wounded, and every time you vomit, it appears black in color. Also, when you look in the mirror, your skin has changed from the sun-kissed color you have always been to a dull yellow hue. The doctor comes in to examine you; he makes many “tsk tsk” noises and hurries out of the room with a cloth over his face. The doctor mumbles to your mother that he believes you have Yellow Jack and there is nothing more he can do, you are going to die. Your mother weeps uncontrollably yet you cannot react because another horrendous pain in your head has doubled you over. Soon, as you stop shaking and begin to relax, the sounds of the doctor and your mother become white noise and your surroundings begin to dull until you prove the doctor right; another person fell victim to the infectious Yellow Fever virus.
Disease and war go hand and hand in war. Throughout history, any major military conflict opens a can of worms of disease and death, by moving people to new environments, as well as, cramming them into confined quarters the perfect habitat for human pathogens to prosper. At the turn of the last century Cuba was seeking independence from Spain, which the Spanish resisted by relocating rebel groups. This relocation and increase in density escalated the already problematic yellow fever epidemic. The fear of relocation caused many Cubans to immigrate to the United States, many with yellow fever in tow. While the United States joined the war effort for many reasons, including the prosperity of the sugar industry, the spread of freedom, or the sinking of the Maine, it was the pressing fear of disease that led to an imminent threat to the people of the Gulf Coast. This threat materialized after the US forces landed in Havana and experienced the disease firsthand. In response to the overwhelming number of infected soldiers, the US Government sent a group of Army physicians to undergo a major sanitation effort to clean up Cuba. The work of Walter Reed and the second Yellow Fever Commission through their sanitation efforts led to many advances in the understanding of disease and population health. Starting with the threat of escaping Cuban refugees to the treating of infected Soldiers to the advancement in epidemiology, yellow fever had a major impact on not only the US entrance to the war with Spain, but to the development of modern medicine and the first American Empire.
Nancy K. Bristow, American Pandemic, The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 193
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
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
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...ssor Heather MacDougall, “July – 11 November 1918: Pandemic Influenza on the Battlefield and Homefront,” Lecture delivered 9 November, 2011, HIST 191, University of Waterloo
"Pandemic Flu History." Home. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web. 23 Mar.
United States. National Archives and Records Administration. The Influenza Epidemic of 1918. 23 July. 2008 < http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/>.
Kent, Susan Kingsley. The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
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."
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.
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.