Spanish Influenza Research Paper

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.

The book “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, written by John M. Barry, covers the progression of the Spanish influenza, especially in the United States. Barry focuses not only on the influenza itself, though, but also on the social influences that allowed the virus to flourish. The book covers how medical practices in the United States had risen up just in time to combat the virus, but, due to societal issues and the war, the doctors struggled in areas where they should have been successful.

The first wave of the 1918 pandemic appeared in San Sebastián, Spain. Within two months, 8 million of Spain’s residents were ill, and the disease had spread on a global scale. Soon it became known as the Spanish flu, because it received the most press there. The other nations had their media tied up with wartime censorship; Spain, a noncombatant, had no such measures in place (Kolata, Flu 9-10). The first wave of the 1918 pandemic appeared in America without much comment. The media was more interested in attention-grabbing news about topics like the war than the rather unremarkable flu. Most people were afflicted with symptoms for a few days before recovering and moving on. The only aspect of the flu that was remarkable was the condition of the lungs from the victims who had died from the flu and pneumonia (Crosby 17-21).

The Spanish flu in World War I was a lot worse and had a way higher death rate than the common flu today. Therefore, they should not even be compared. It is so much different because during war everything was so dirty and everyone was always crammed in the trenches: “World War 1 trenches were dirty, smelly and riddled with disease. For soldiers life in the trenches meant living in fear” (WWI facts). This made it very easy to catch illnesses especially because the flu was so contagious. The symptoms of the Spanish flu were very similar to the symptoms of a common flu: “Normal flu symptoms of fever, nausea, aches and diarrhea” (NPR). Although they were similar is was still way more deadly to have it during World War I. Everyone already had such

In the early 1900’s medicine was making some steps closer into some great improvements for health and better understanding of the human body. Doctors with sufficient knowledge of the human body and cures for diseases and viruses were scarce. People were much more concerned with government and politics, than health and medicine, until one of the greatest and most grotesque lethal pandemics that’s struck the earth in human history. This pandemic the “Spanish Flu” spread so rapidly and had an extremely high mortality rate. This was caused by the close contact of humans and poor cleanliness and sanitation, and the host (virus) and the body taking harsh action

Towards the end of World War I, a flu epidemic broke out with no cure. It was unique because most of the people who got it weren't the usuals to get sick. It was so deadly because no one knew how to cure it or mainly anyway to help it. The theater in Chicago tried to prevent the sickness from spreading by not allowing anyone who is sick to enter the theater. They wanted you to stay home and get better.

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.

Then, in the fall of 1918, influenza struck. People everywhere fell victim to the Spanish flu, dying of uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs and caused the patients to drown (Crane 1). Estimates say that approximately 20 to 40 percent of the world’s population became ill, and the worldwide death toll was around 20 to 40 million (“NVPO” 2). Around 675,000 people died in America alone (Crane 5). The Spanish flu struck quickly; you could feel well in the morning, get sick by noon, and be dead by nightfall (“NVPO” 2). The doctors were unable to cure the Spanish flu, so the people resorted to superstitious practices, such as wearing a

It killed 1000 Canadians a day and 50 000 overall. Sick people were isolated in schools, churches, hospitals, and theatres. The Spanish Influenza came in three waves and the second wave was the deadliest of them all. During the first wave, people were bleeding from their ears, eyes and nose and there was no one to help them because everyone was infected with this flu: “Power is a way how society functions within it.” John Barry is talking about how the Spanish flu came with a lot of power and killed lots of people. This infection decreased the population and it caused a lot of havoc in the cities. Clearly, the Spanish influenza was a dangerous infection that killed many people and affected Canada socially.

To start off, the Spanish Flu is an influenza pandemic. The ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic of 1918 was one of the greatest medical disaster of the 20th century, states Historic UK. The Spanish Flu was a huge catastrophe of our last century. BritishredCross states, “The disease was worldwide, spreading from west to east.” The disease spread all over the world.

The 1918 pandemic was known as the “Spanish Flu” and was Influenza strain A(H1N1) and it caused the highest known influenza death rate known, 500,000 Americans and 20 million people worldwide.

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

Flu takes place during the year of 1918, when humanity was in the fight against the influenza pandemic. Unbothered by the flu at first because it was only known as a four day flu, life went on as normal, but when the second wave of the flu hit people began to become sick and die. The flu hit its peak when it had killed more people than WWI and WWII combined. “And since

At no time was a search for the cure for influenza more frantic than after the devastating effects of the pandemic of 1918. The pandemic killed somewhere between twenty and a hundred million people, making it twenty five times more deadly than the ordinary cough and sneeze flu. The symptoms of this flu

In 1918 as World War I was winding down an influenza epidemic began. “It first arrived in Boston in September of 1918 through the