4/18/16
Period 2
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Influenza Catastrophe
From 1918-1919, a deadly, contagious disease, known as the influenza pandemic was spreading at an incredibly fast rate worldwide. There are several names for the flu such as “Spanish Flu”, “Three-Day-Fever”, and “The Flu.” It was first recognized in Europe, the US, and parts of Asia before spreading worldwide. Many of the victims exposed to the disease were young and the adults were healthy. There were no effective medicine to cure or slow down the disease. Since the disease was very deadly and contagious, people had to wear face mask to school, work or any place public in order for them not to contract the disease. Scientist believed that the reason why the influenza virus was so deadly because the virus attacked the victim's lungs and cause pneumonia. It was the most deadly virus outbreak in world history taking out 20% to 40 % of the world's population. Ages 20 to 40 victims with the virus half of the time were fatal. Victims under the age of 65 were likely to die unlike the people who were over the age of 65.
In 1918, the influenza pandemic killed up to 50 million people. Some people took aspirins, oils, herbs, and other products to prevent them from getting sick or help them get better. The virus killed 10 times more people than the First World War all together. The public health authorities claimed that the reason why the disease spread was because of the germs in the air, people coughing, and physical contact didn’t make it any better. Because of this virus outbreak, many people's day to day lives were affected greatly. The influenza pandemic occurred in three different waves. The first wave was when the disease was barely uprising, in late spring of 1918. Second wave occurred when the outbreak of the disease was major, in fall of 1918. The final wave happened in spring of 1918. The worst wave that occurred out of the three was definitely the second wave. The reason for this was because fall is the season when everyone gets sick, the weather begins to get cold, and people will end up coughing on someone causing them to get sick. Then after they are sick, they might cough on another person spreading it to them, so on and so forth. Section I: On a Quest to Find a Cure More than 50 million people died worldwide from the influenza virus. …show more content…
When the virus first struck, doctors and scientist were stumped on what was causing the flu and how to cure it. The early symptoms of the flu were a temperature of 102 to 104, sore throat, exhaustion, headache, aching limbs, bloodshot eyes, a cough and sometimes a violent nosebleed. Others may have digestive issues such as vomiting or diarrhea. People who experienced these symptoms made a full recovery. Back then, they didn't have vaccines or any drugs to cure the virus. ”The first licensed flu vaccine appeared in America in the 1940s; by the following decade, vaccine manufacturers could routinely produce vaccines that would help control and prevent future pandemics, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” The flu got so bad that the hospitals were completely packed with patients. Schools private homes, and other buildings had to make that place into a hospital controlled by medical students. There wasn't enough doctors so they had no choice but to have medical students helping them. In some communities, officials command that citizens wear mask at all times that they leave their homes to go outside in public. They also shut down schools, churches, theaters, and lots of other public places. Citizens were told to avoid shaking peoples hands and to stay indoors as much as they can. (1918 Flu Pandemic) People tried many things to cure or slow down the virus. New oils, drugs and herbs were made to reduce the pain or fever of the virus. Aspirin was highly recommended to those who had the flu. Epinephrine was given to a person who has secondary pneumonia. Powder cinnamon or oil form with milk was given to reduce the patient's temperature. Salt of quinine was a known treatment. Patients were recommended to stay