Claudia's USH Blog: Spanish Influenza

Spanish Influenza (1918-1919)

It's strange to think that the most devastating epidemic in history was less than 100 years ago. The number of people it was said to kill initially was somewhere between 20-40 million people world wide. However it is now known that the number of deaths was more than 50 million. In only one year, the Spanish Influenza killed as many or more people than four years of the Black Plague. 1/5 of the world was infected with the influenza, with the mortality rate at its highest for people between the ages of 20-40. Europe took a notice at the first wave and by the end of June, more than 8 million Spanish had been diagnosed with the flu. This lead to it being known as the "Spanish Influenza". In the US alone, 28% of Americans were infected. Even President Wilson suffered from the flu in early 1919. And when it was finally over, more than 675,000 Americans died as the result of this epidemic. That was the equivalent to 10 times the number of Americans killed in World War I, which was unfortunately happening at the same time. The average american life span, which was significantly lower than our present 70-80 years at only 54 years, dropped by 10 years in only year. For every 1000 people, 25 would unfortunately die of the influenza.

The influenza came in two waves; the first in the spring of 1918, and that second that winter. The first wave did not claim as many victims as the second, in fact many people ignored the first wave. The American Public health system was one of the groups that ignored the first wave of the influenza. Because of the lack of a good network of health departments in the United States, America struggled to compile enough data about the 1st wave. The wave did not last very long, leading America to believe that the lack of data was no big deal. Prisons and Armed Forces were among the few resources that had a good record of data. News papers like the Denver Post ran articles informing people of the differences between cold and flu symptoms in hopes of helping people determine between the two. At this time in history common cold was often confused with the flu. Doctors noticed that the flu was spreading quickly however they also knew that some cases may just have been misdiagnosed colds.

The second breakout was in Boston. On September 7, 1918, a soldier at a camp right outside of Boston, Massachusetts, was sick with a fever. By September 23, 12,604 soldiers in the camp of 45,000, were sick with the same symptoms. Although these the flu was spreading extremely fast, it took awhile for Massachusetts to take precautions. The people of Boston were too distracted by the Women's Suffrage Act and the Red Socks victory at the world series to be concerned about the influenza. Although doctor's advised them not to, cities held huge rallies to raise support for the war. These public gatherings included mass meetings where disease could be spread easily. It wasn't until the flu spread through Army camps and naval bases by the end of September, that the United States government began to take notice.

One example of just how crippling the influenza was, was portrayed by a doctor visiting an Indian Reservation. On day one the patient had a fever of 100.6. On day two he was still up and walking. By day three the patient had developed double pneumonia. On day four, being unable to stand up, the man was taken to the hospital by a wagon. And by day five, the man was dead. This was considered to be the average case for people with the Spanish Influenza.

The tight military quarters allowed for the flu to spread even faster. Also, training for the war was so physical that it lowered the immune systems of the soldiers. The sick bays in Army camps were full and the nurses had to resort to using the healthy sailors quarters in order to get provide more room for the sick. The United States quickly realized that they must put in more effort to finding the cause. The US government allotted $1 million to the research of the epidemic. Although this meant less money for the war effort, the government realized that it was necessary.

The United States Public Health Service was unprepared and unorganized. People were getting sicker faster than they could find someone to care for them. Because of this many people died of dehydration, starvation and poor care. Nurses were in high demand. Doctors, however were not needed. This is because there was no cure.Even though doctors didn't have definite proof, they believed a man named Robert Pfeiffer, who said the influenza was a bacteria and not a virus. Doctors injected healthy people with the bacteria and they didn't sick, but they had no other cure option. At this time, antibiotics were not available and the only vaccine was made before the cause of this disease was known so it was not a very good vaccine. Patients were experiencing symptoms that were not usually associated with the flu- diarrhea sore throat, bloodshot eyes. Scientists only knew that the influenza was spreading with droplets from the nose and throat when people coughed and sneezed. Doctors advised people to wear masks in order not to contract the virus. However, people did not always listen.

Fortunately in late 1919, the epidemic ended. Unfortunately it claimed more American lives by ten fold than the war itself did.