The Spanish Flu of 1918
No avian influenza virus has caused a similar pandemic when compared to the catastrophic events of the 1918 Spanish Flu. Many experts compare any possible influenza pandemic against the historical severity of the Spanish Flu.
The Spanish Flu was an avian influenza virus that mutated into a highly infectious form causing a pandemic that occurred in 1918-1919. The Spanish Flu has been referred to as “La Grippe” or “La Pesadilla”. The Spanish Flu ravaged the world in 1918 causing mayhem and death everywhere.
The Spanish Flu pandemic was caused by the H1N1 avian influenza A virus that was especially deadly and severe at the time. In 1918, the H1N1 influenza A virus was new to the population. The longer a strain of influenza circulates the population the more resistance to the strain the population will have.
The probable source of the Spanish Flu is not clearly known. This particular influenza virus became known as the Spanish Flu because of the great press attention in Spain. The press in Spain was not censored during the war because Spain was not involved in the war.
However, Fort Riley military base in Kansas had many complaints of illness, mainly fever in the spring of 1918. The Spanish Flu claimed 48 lives from Fort Riley that spring.
How severe was this pandemic?
More human life was lost during this pandemic than those individuals who were killed in World War I. More individuals died in a single year of the Spanish Flu compared to four years of the Bubonic Plague (Black Death of 1347-1351). The Spanish Flu was estimated to have killed between 20-50 million individuals in which 675,000 were Americans, making this the most devastating influenza pandemic in world history.
What historical event catapulted the Spanish Flu?
In the fall of 1918, Americans were fighting World War I in Europe. America had joined the Allies in the fight against the Germans. At this time, what seemed to be an average influenza season erupted, or was it?
Many historians believe the war in Europe helped spread the Spanish Flu. Soldiers shipped to Europe brought with them the deadly flu virus. Military camps, ships, and trenches helped to spread the Spanish Flu virus. The Spanish Flu found a way into British trenches in France in the spring of 1918 spreading very quickly to German trenches.
This avian influenza virus had infected one-fifth the world’s population in two years. The Spanish Flu was depicted as an especially virulent virus in which many individuals died hours after the onset of the first symptoms. The estimates of death vary considerably because many individuals were buried before being named or counted.
What effect did the Spanish Flu have on the American society?
The Spanish Flu caused a breakdown in the social structure of communities alike. Many communities panicked, enacting a variety of ordinances. Individuals who ignored the community laws were forced to pay steep fines. A few of the laws include:
- Public gatherings of any sort were outlawed
- Handshakes were illegal
- Funerals could only last 15 minutes
- Restrictions were placed on travel
- Stores could not hold sales
- Railroads would not accept passengers without a signed certificate
- Face mask made of thin gauze were mandatory in certain areas
Many doctors and nurses were serving overseas, not able to help the home front fight off the deadly virus. Medical facilities were strained with the lack of medical help. Many businesses, schools, farms, and factories were unable to stay open with the lack of customers and workers.
Bodies pilled up in which mass graves were dug by steam shovel. Coffins were in short supply so many bodies were buried without coffins.
Children in 1918 would skip rope to this rhyme (Crawford)
“I had a little bird,
It’s name was Enza,
I opened the window,
And in-flu-enza.”
Paranoia, nationalism, and suspicion were rampant in the absence of a treatment or cure. Many individuals blamed the flu on the German U-boats, believing the Germans came up the coast infecting America with the flu.
Many individuals became desperate with no cure in sight, reaching for worthless remedies. Individuals would hang camphor soaked balls around their neck or they would eat lumps of kerosene flavored sugar. Individuals would also tie red ribbons around the right arm in hopes this would save them.
What did the Spanish Flu teach the American public?
Every event in history has a lesson learned. The Spanish Flu caused public health departments to implement restrictive measures. The American government learned to rely on scientists because science had a far greater importance than previously thought.
Scientists had now developed a new theory on germs and antiseptic surgery, learned to design vaccines, and how to reduce disease mortality as well as battle wounds. The public had a relatively calm response to the change in scientific ideas.
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