Flu Epidemic of 1918
Walking down any given street in the year 1918 between the months of June and December, one would take notice of coffins lining the sidewalks. Nobody was on the streets, and dead bodies were stuffed into every available space. The Flu Epidemic of 1918 not only was the most devastating event of the twentieth century, but propelled the United States to search for a vaccine that has not yet been found, causing concern that the flu will strike again. Influenza has been around almost as long as people have walked the earth. Its roots draw back as far as 412 B.C., when a man named Hippocrates wrote of an uncontrollable outbreak of a disease that closely resembles influenza. This pandemic devastated an entire Athenian army, and has since occurred approximately every one hundred years (Persico 30). However, in 1918, influenza was somewhat different. It became popularly known as the Spanish influenza. This is slightly a misnomer because although it became widely known in Spain during the spring of 1918, it had been noticed on British army bases in France in 1917 (Carter 18). This new virus became extremely deadly in a short amount of time. Nobody could form a good reason as to why it had appeared. Scientists hypothesized that i
The most recent occurrence happened in the summer of 1997. The infection, called H5N1, has always been carried in Hong Kong by aquatic birds, yet has not been known to directly infect a human. Unfortunately a three year-old boy caught the virus and died, without infecting anyone else. This caused for concern of an upcoming epidemic (Kolata 220). At this time there is a committee focusing on a reaction in case of an epidemic as serious as the one in 1918. They are debating issues such as whether or not to allow businesses and schools to open, how to provide care for house-bound victims, and whether masks should be worn to prevent transmission of bacteria, which may cause secondary infections. Worry is developing because there is no current plan to handle something this severe (Is Another...Soon?, 1997) This new influenza baffled researchers and doctors everywhere. Up to this point, all viral diseases has spread prominently throughout heavily populated areas and into the lungs of the very young, very old, or sickly. On the contrary, the Influenza of 1918 swept through the Midwest and preyed on the young and healthy. There was virtually nothing that could stop it, and at one point, over ten percent of America's workforce was bedridden (Is Another...Soon?, 1997). One newspaper ran an article stating what people could do to prevent acquiring influenza. "Chew food carefully, avoid tight clothes, tight shoes, and tight gloves, and breathe as much fresh air as possible." Nothing worked (Persico 31). People walked through New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Tokyo with masks constructed of antiseptic white cotton over their mouths (Carter 19). Men were forced to line up before work each morning in order to get their throats sprayed with antiseptic in o! "Is another influenza pandemic coming soon?" Infectious Disease News. May 1997: SLACK Incorporated. 10Jan. 2001 mall blood blisters from the size of a pinhead to a dime or larger, and the air sacs were clogged with the same clear fluid (Kolata 29). This lung had suffered from massive bacterial pneumonia, although his right had not. Dr Taubenberger has broken down this tissue until only RNA remains (Sternberg, 1997). t came from poison gases formed from exploding ammunition, decomposing bodies, and carbon dioxide from trenches, which fused together, forming a toxic vapor (Persico 81). Because it had swept up! This particular epidemic of influenza was proven to have existed before the breakout in Spain. It had made three waves during a two-year period. Each new assault became more infectious. Over twenty thousand people died in New York City alone, and the only country not affected, Australia, possesses strict quarantine regulations (Is another influenza pandemic coming soon?, 1997). The epidemic passed through army bases and boats among other countries before spreading through the Unit
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1956
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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