Essay on The Flu Epidemic F 1918

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.

One of the most virulent strains of influenza in history ravaged the world and decimated the populations around the world. Present during World War I, the 1918 strain of pandemic influenza found many opportunities to spread through the war. At the time, science wasn’t advanced enough to study the virus, much less find a cure; medical personnel were helpless when it came to fighting the disease, and so the flu went on to infect millions and kill at a rate 25 times higher than the standard.

Influenza is an infectious illness that can be spread from one individual to the next. It can be transmitted by means of saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. It can also be spread by coming in contact with the virus on contaminated surfaces. Influenza is responsible for an average of 36,000 deaths and for more than 226,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007).

This influenza occurred at the latter point of “World War 1” coming at a vulnerable time for the world. Many people have already died due to the war, and many resources and money has already been consumed. So when the pandemic hit, it hit with a charge that left a great wound in the economy and health of the people not just in the U.S. but the world. People responded by taking more precautions in health and safety, and took radical response in the exterminating of animal populations.

Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like

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.

Influenza, an innocent little virus that annually comes and goes, has always been a part of people’s lives. Knowing this, one would not believe that it has caused not one, not two, but three pandemics and is on its way to causing a fourth! The Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957, and the Hong Kong

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

Study's show that it's highly unlikely that a influenza pandemic like the one in 1918 and 1919 is possible. The flu pandemic in 1918 and 1919,took more than 20 million people's lives in the world. According to the CDC, flu viruses are constantly changing and mutating which is why scientists can't develop a life long vaccine. According to experts they say that a flu pandemic would have a even greater impact on humanity than anything else currently happening in the world. Scientists also say that it's very rare that a flu pandemic will happen but, it's likely that their will be another one, and if there is it will be even bigger.Scientists are currently developing a vaccine just incase a pandemic were to happen. Doctors say if we were

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

Influenza is the common name given to an infectious disease which as we known is caused by the influenza virus. Around the world and in the united states the influenza disease is referred to as “the flu” and due to similar symptoms people mistakenly believe that it is nothing more than an ordinary severe type of cold. While the influenza symptoms as it manifests can range from mild to severe, the flu still kills a significant number of people annually.

Influenza is a homeostatic imbalance of the respiratory system that is of a changing strain each season. This disease is common, easily infection many people each day. Influenza onset is sudden, and each case can be either severe or mild. Epidemics of influenza began in the 1500s and still occur to the present day. Influenza is likely to infect more parts of the body than the common cold, and it is a highly contagious disease. By studying influenza, one can find the history dating centuries in the past, the onset of the disease, how it is transmitted, its impact, the role of genetics, and treatment of the disease.

The Spanish Flu was very deadly. Mostly for ages 20-40. Also an estimate of 675,000 Americans died from it. It also infected 28% of Americans twice. Also an estimated 43,000 servicemen mobilized for WWI died of influenza Crosby. About one third of the planet's population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims and that’s a lot of people.

The flu, properly called influenza, is an amazingly widespread and widely known disease. There are many variations of the influenza virus, differing in severity, but not significantly different in function. The influenza virus infects epithelial cells in the respiratory tract, taking over the cell’s production mechanisms so more viruses are produced, eventually causing the host cells to burst. The body’s immune system tries to combat the infection from succeeding. This internal battle produces many outward symptoms including a fever and dry cough, among others. Influenza is not usually a fatal disease, but its high mutation rate insures its continuing import by allowing it to return in