The Influenza Epidemic of 1918

for Dr. Mitchell Stone SDSM&T

by Brett Foley American History II student

April 28, 1999

Brett Foley American History Essay (first draft)

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 In the history of the United States, which month of which year did the most Americans die? When I asked this question to a few of my friends I got a variety of answers. The answers generally were usually sometime doing the Civil War or during World War II. Most were pretty good guesses, but none were right. The answer is October of 1918, when nearly 200,000 died during the great flu pandemic (very wide spread epidemic) that killed more than 600,000 Americans and more than 26 million world wide. What caused this catastrophe? How did it spread so fast? How did we stop it? Why do most young Americans know more about the Black Plague than they do about the much more recent “plague” that was the worst epidemic in U.S. history? What are we doing to prevent a horror like this from happening again? In this essay I’ll try to answer these questions and give some more insights into the worst epidemic that this country has ever known. First, to understand the nature of an influenza epidemic one should know some facts about the flu itself. Most common flu symptoms are similar to those of a cold, and tend to fade in a few days.

However, more complex cases of influenza can be

accompanied by fever, aches and gastrointestinal symptoms, and death is possible if it is accompanied by pneumonia (Influenza).

Throughout the past 500 years influenza

pandemics have been common, with no fewer than 31 on record.

During one week, starting on March 11, 1918, at an Army hospital in Ft. Riley, Kansas, 500 solders became suddenly ill. Over the next few weeks 48 of the soldiers died; the doctors couldn’t explain why. This was during World War I and soldiers from Ft. Riley were sent to Europe to fight. On the battle fields, the disease quickly mutated into a killer. While all sides suffered from the virus, Spain, which was not involved in the war, did not censor the news of the killer virus decimating its population during May and June. Because if this Spain was incorrectly seen as the epidemics country of origin, and the disease became referred to as Spanish influenza. No one had ever experienced this type of flu. The disease was often complicated by bacterial pneumonia. “The infected never new what hit them; in the morning they felt fine; by night they could be dead- drowned as the lungs filled with fluid” (Shalala). The mutated disease came back to the U.S. with the returning troops. With amazing speed army hospitals filled to overflowing, and the bodies started piling up. The disease, being transmitted by air, could not be contained; September brought about transmission of the flu to the civilian population. People were often skeptical that it was a really epidemic at first, but soon the disease left little room for doubt. For example, to support the war effort there was a Liberty Loan Drive in Philadelphia on September 28200,000 people attended. Days later “635 new cases were reported” (Am. Experience). Philadelphia and other cities quickly began to grasp the extent recognize the problem and take action. Across the country steps were taken to try to stop the spread of the disease. Public gatherings were banned; schools and churches were closed. Masks were distributed to halt the spread, but due to the small size of the virus the simple breath masks didn’t help.

Microscopes were not yet powerful enough to see the virus; because of this doctors misidentified the disease as a bacteria. This sent researchers down the wrong path; every vaccine they developed failed. Many people, frustrated by the failure of science to find a cure, turned to folk remedies like garlic, camphor balls, and kerosene on sugar (Am. Experience). Nothing worked.

In October the wave of death crested.

Record after record for

number of deaths in a month was set and broken. For example, in New York 851 died of the flu in one day; the death rate for one week in Philadelphia was 700 time greater than normal. Funeral homes could not keep up with the demand and there was a nation wide coffin shortage. In some cities bodies were left in street gutters and in coffins on front porches. The Surgeon General announced that if the disease continued at it’s current rate, the human species could be decimated in a matter of weeks November brought about the end of the war, and along with it the end of the epidemic. Although several thousand people caught influenza during the street parties celebrating the end of the war, the total number of cases began to sharply fall. Scientists believe now that the disease had simply run it’s course- all susceptible people had been infected so the flu just ran out of fuel.

The events and horrors of those 11 months had a profound psychological effect on many Americans. Because many had been too afraid to leave their homes or interact with friends, the disease destroyed much of the intimacy that existed among people. The end of the war provided a distraction from the memories of the epidemic and it was quickly pushed to the back of most peoples minds. In 1941, an influenza vaccine was created. While this helped to control the disease, it was not the “magic bullet” many had hoped for. Flu vaccination provides immunity to a specific type of influenza; no one vaccine is completely effective. Due to the fact that influenza mutates so quickly to negate any immunization humans develop, vaccinations are effective for less than one year. Health organizations around the world keep track of influenza mutations to create new vaccines. “Because it would be prohibitively expensive to prepare vaccine for the entire population each time the disease mutated, vaccine was for a long time administered only to those most susceptible to developing pneumonia” (Influenza). Later this was expanded to include those at high risk of catching the flu, and now it is available to whoever wants to be immunized. What are we doing to prevent another tragedy like that of 1918 from happening? In 1993 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began to develop a nation wide “pandemic influenza plan”.

Also, organizations like the Centers for Disease

Control and the FDA are pushing new vaccines through production to make sure that in the event of another pandemic we are not caught with our pants down. In conclusion, I think that this subject has been greatly overlooked. Because of it’s significance in history, it’s impact on the overall emotions of this country, and the

continuing danger of another outbreak the 1918 influenza epidemic should receive more attention in schools and history books.

Bibliography

Shalala, D.E. “Collaboration in the Fight Against Infectious Diseases.” Sept. 1998. CDC Online . http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol4no3/shalala.htm (8 APR 1999). “The American Experience: Influenza 1918.” 1999. PBS Online. http://pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza (8 April 1999). “Influenza.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. CD-ROM. Microsoft. 1998. “Medicine, 1918.” Microsoft Bookshelf. CD-ROM. Microsoft. 1994.