Influenza Epidemic Analysis

In two years between 1918 and 1919, A pandemic of influenza swept mercilessly over the planet, killing millions which stood in its path. Miraculously, the exact origin of the pandemic is unclear. What is exceedingly clear, however, is that often the actions of man aided in the spread of the virus, whether due to inadvertent endangerment, close quarters, religious principles, or failure to recognize the true threat that influenza posed.

Throughout the history, influenza viruses have caused several pandemics or global epidemics, killing many people. For example, the influenza strike in 1918 to 1919 infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide, which is one-third of the planet’s population at the time and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million people. More than 25 percentage of the U.S. population were affected, and caused 675,000 deaths in U.S during the pandemic.(History, 2015). There were no effective treatments for this type of influenza and no available vaccines can prevent its spread during the period. (History, 2015) U.S government required general population to wear masks and other protective equipments in public areas, and many public places also closed due to the influenza strike. Health care providers tried everything they knew to save people, but none shows any evidence of effects. (National Center for Biotechnology Information [NCBI], 2015). Scientists found out that the influenza virus had invaded their lungs and caused pneumonia, which made so many people died from the pandemic (History,2015). Another influenza strike happened

Advertising is a complicated form of marketing, it’s almost like an art form. One must be acutely aware of their audience and what captures their attention, otherwise the advertisement will fall flat. There is a myriad of different ways to lure consumers into buying a product; for example, the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) managed through a series of advertisements to convince individuals of the importance in getting a vaccination for the influenza virus. It was applied using multiple techniques, namely the methods of universal appeal and association. These techniques helped the CDC to effectively promotes the flu vaccine and get their message across to a wide range of people.

In about 18 months, about 500 million people around the world got sick. Over 50 million people died from the worst outbreak of flu in known history. There may have been twice as many unreported deaths in some places. The deadly influenza spread so fast that laws were passed to try to stop it. It was illegal in some places to cough, spit, or sneeze in public. People wore masks if they went outside.1

In his nonfiction text, The Great Influenza, John M. Barry explains that scientific research is an uncertain process. Barry supports this explanation by using rhetorical strategies such as repetition and a metaphor. Barry’s purpose is to prove scientific research is a confident process that allows one to be courageous on the side of uncertainty. Barry uses formal tone with his audience that goes beyond researchers.

When people see or hear advertisements, whether it be in a magazine or on television, many do not stop to consider or analyze the techniques that go into making the advertisement effective. For instance, the Center for Disease Control has a campaign that has the purpose of promoting the influenza vaccination. If you examine the campaign closely, it becomes clear that the advertising campaign targets a diverse audience of all ages, genders, and races who could all benefit from getting an influenza vaccination. In this advertisement campaign, the Center for Disease Control effectively promotes the benefits of getting an influenza vaccination to a targeted audience using numerous persuasive techniques such as association and universal appeal.

Every year, millions of people start talking about the influenza virus and getting their vaccines as the flu season approaches, which starts around the October-November period and reaches its peak between December and March. Therefore, public health officials around the world- and in the U.S in particular- are constantly challenged by properly preparing for the annual influenza dilemma, given that this viruses, and other respiratory viruses, are a serious health threat to the U.S population and the world as a whole. Furthermore, what makes the influenza virus even more challenging to control is that it can mutate rapidly and reassort to form new strains, having the ability to reside in multiple animal hosts. In fact, many scientists and researchers have been doing in-depth intensive research so as to understand the mechanism behind this unique characteristic of the virus, try to find new ways to control it, and explore different areas of protection and vaccination.

An epidemic occurs when a disease spreads to more people in one area then usually happens. There have been many epidemics in history that have had devastating effects. Two epidemics that occurred right here in the United States were cholera and scarlet fever. From the 1830’s to the 1860’s, cholera spread throughout the United States killing many people. And in the late 1850’s scarlet fever spread throughout the New England area of the United States. For both of these terrible diseases it is not clear what stopped their rapid spread. Today there is a vaccine for cholera but not for scarlet fever. However, there are ways to protect yourself from catching these diseases. New and stronger illnesses seem to be happening all the time and are in the news. However, we still need to be aware of these diseases from the past so we can keep ourselves healthy.

No matter how strenuous it may be for an urban area to prevent an outbreak from occurring, it is still inevitable. Many organizations have tried to educate the population about the cause of diseases and how to prevent it. Although this method displays a decrease in certain diseases, it still occurs. However, instead of just attempting to prevent these diseases, a profound amount of cures have been discovered to treat it. Throughout multiple sources, such as online articles and lectures on the Industrial Revolution, it is unambiguous that the human race spreads disease through unsanitary environments, direct physical contact, and lack of knowledge, but society adapts to these situations and restrains the expansion of diseases by improved safety

The book The Great Influenza by John Barry takes us back to arguably one of the greatest medical disasters in human history, the book focuses on the influenza pandemic which took place in the year 1918. The world was at war in the First World War and with everyone preoccupied with happenings in Europe and winning the war, the influenza pandemic struck when the human race was least ready and most distracted by happenings all over the world. In total the influenza pandemic killed over a hundred million people on a global scale, clearly more than most of the deadliest diseases in modern times. John Barry leaves little to imagination in his book as he gives a vivid description of the influenza pandemic of 1918 and exactly how this pandemic affected the human race. The book clearly outlines the human activities that more or less handed the human race to the influenza on a silver platter. “There was a war on, a war we had to win” (Barry, p.337). An element of focus in the book is the political happenings back at the time not only in the United States of America but also all over the world and how politicians playing politics set the way for perhaps the greatest pandemic in human history to massacre millions of people. The book also takes an evaluator look at the available medical installations and technological proficiencies and how the influenza pandemic has affected medicine all over the world.

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 impacted places throughout the world both negatively and positively. Often the reason for the major spread of pestilence was due to transportation of goods and people. This pandemic infected people worldwide, killing millions. Overall people responded to the pandemic in different ways through commitment to the task, consulting religion, avoiding contact with others, and the effort to raise public health awareness.

One of the worst outbreaks occurred in 1918 when World War I was coming to a close, and millions of soldiers were returning home. The virus spread quickly worldwide and reached pandemic proportions (Lamb). The pandemic was due to a new and extremely deadly strain of influenza, the H1N1 avian influenza A virus. It was dubbed the Spanish flu after it killed 8 million in Spain, and was one of the most lethal influenza pandemics in history. The high mortality rate was due to the severity of the symptoms and the extremely contagious nature of the virus (Schulman). It killed 20 million people in a matter of months, and by the time it ran its course, it had killed 50-100 million people worldwide. In the United States, 25 million were infected and 675,000 died. The 1918 flu went away within a year as it mutated into less lethal forms. Most people today have some degree of immunity to the H1N1 virus, inherited from those who survived the pandemic

The 1918 Flu Pandemic was a disaster because it was the deadliest in modern history. This disease killed many people. In fact, more U.S. soldiers in WWI died of the flu rather than in battle. The virus was profoundly contagious back in 1918. It was a virus that besieged the respiratory system. Meaning that if anyone who had the flu coughed or sneezed and an uninfected person inhaled it, they would catch it as well.

The Spanish Flu in 1918 affected the lives of a younger population, and affected the human body in a different way. It was also a disease that spread worldwide. Stanford EDU states, “It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.”

Overall, smallpox, measles, malaria, influenza, and typhus are epidemics guided by environmental factors. Initially, these factors are water supply, sanitation facilities, food, and climate. Subsequently, lack of safe water, ineffective excreta disposal facilities, poor hygiene, poor living conditions, and unsafe food were the main cause of suffering and death. In general, climate also affects disease transmission of a variety of ways. Additionally, the distribution and population size of disease vectors alters the local climate, and flooding after heavy rains can result in sewage overflow and widespread water contamination. Beside, pathogens might travel through one region to another along air streams