The 1918 Flu Pandemic Abstract 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
The 1918 Flu Pandemic is considered to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history, estimated to have affected up to 33% and killing anywhere between 3% and 6% of the world population at the time. It killed up to 20% of those infected, as opposed to the usual flu epidemic mortality rate of 0.1%. The disease also distinguished itself in its morbidity and mortality patterns as it predominantly killed previously healthy young adults more than it did children and the elderly. Modern research
In 1918, World War I was coming to an end; the condition of warfare was a breeding ground of diseases and unhealthy conditions. The trenches were cold, wet, dirty, and smelly and infested with rats and lice. This could only be one of the contributions to the pandemic. Another possible contribution of the spreading on the illness was the transportation of Chinese workers to Canada in 1917; where many of the workers displayed flu-like symptoms (Vergano). During the war, troops were returning home
The Spanish Flu of 1918 Based on writings of David Douglas Dickson The 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—three to five percent of the world’s population—making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile
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 influenza had been around for some time. However, it wasn’t until the
The History of the Flu This research paper covers the basic history of influenza. It begins with its early history and the reasons for why influenza was never feared. It also covers three influenza pandemics: the Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu, the Hong Kong flu and the terror and heartbreak left behind in their wakes. In addition, the paper discusses avian influenza and addresses the current threat of a bird flu pandemic. Influenza, an innocent little virus that annually comes and
Influenza Virus According to the CDC there was a breakout in “1918-19 Flu pandemic, which killed as many as 50 million people worldwide”causing the biggest breakout for Influenza (Reconstruction of 1918 Influenza Pandemic Virus). Influenza originated from Asia and the Middle East. Virtually all mammalian species have influenza. Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the Influenza virus. There are three types of Influenza: type A, type B, and type C. Influenza has numerous symptoms
In the spring of 1918, the first wave of one of the deadliest influenza pandemics began plaguing its victims (Peters, ix). Over the span of three lethal waves, the pandemic claimed approximately forty million victims, eradicating nearly twenty percent of the entire world’s population, or about one out of five individuals (Peters, ix). To make matters more dire, the ill-suited medical community was exceptionally unprepared for such a wide-scale pandemic: Doctors had very basic tools, knew little
Katarrh (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) was a global disaster which occurred between March of 1918 and the spring season of 1919 (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). This virus was more catastrophic even than the First World War which was occurring at the same time the influenza broke out, killing more people than the Great War itself (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). The virus killed more people in one year than in the four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague (The 1918 Influenza Pandemic). Many questions
Spanish Influenza The year was 1918. WW1 was at its tail-end. The trenches on the western front had been ridden with death, depression, and disease. Despite that, there was a new virus that was brewing all around the world. Its origins aren’t exactly known, but the first wave hit in military camps in the US. At first, no one really took action or reported it, since disease was common in this war. But, as fall and winter set in, the disease could not be ignored anymore. The name of it came from