Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918
Desiree Iwinski
P-5
Global Studies
Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 During the 1918 year period in America , a majority of people were financially well off and spent most of their time going to the movies, roller skating, dancing, and playing pool. Theater was starting to lose popularity was it was still a good competitor for Hollywood. The celebrities from the black and white silent films were just as popular as current actors and actresses. Having large amounts of people gather together for these activities caused an uproar because it cause the risk of infecting more and more people with the deadly influenza. Because of World War I, the flu quickly made its way from Europe to the United States. It started spring time in Europe and made its way to America by fall which then caused the pandemic to be worldwide. The American troops were among the first ones to be exposed to this disease. Hospitals all across America were filled with dying soldiers. This flu caused about 43,000 men at war to die. The virus threatened every country that was at war. (2009, Duffy) No one knows for sure where this deadly pandemic came from but there have been guesses, such as Haskell County, Kansas, Asia, and a British Army post in France. “The American Medical Association sponsored what is generally considered the best of several comprehensive international studies of the pandemic conducted by Dr. Edwin Jordan, editor of The Journal of Infectious Disease. He spent years reviewing evidence from all over the world; the AMA published his work in 1927.” (Barry, 2004) After researching with all of his evidence he narrowed the source of the disease to be from Kansas. It was believed to come from a specific army camp in Kansas known as Fort Riley and then it eventually spread to different camps. “After five weeks, 1,127 soldiers at Fort Riley had been stricken with the Spanish flu; 46 of them had died.” (Rosenberg) In a short matter of time it made its way to cities across the country
P-5
Global Studies
Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 During the 1918 year period in America , a majority of people were financially well off and spent most of their time going to the movies, roller skating, dancing, and playing pool. Theater was starting to lose popularity was it was still a good competitor for Hollywood. The celebrities from the black and white silent films were just as popular as current actors and actresses. Having large amounts of people gather together for these activities caused an uproar because it cause the risk of infecting more and more people with the deadly influenza. Because of World War I, the flu quickly made its way from Europe to the United States. It started spring time in Europe and made its way to America by fall which then caused the pandemic to be worldwide. The American troops were among the first ones to be exposed to this disease. Hospitals all across America were filled with dying soldiers. This flu caused about 43,000 men at war to die. The virus threatened every country that was at war. (2009, Duffy) No one knows for sure where this deadly pandemic came from but there have been guesses, such as Haskell County, Kansas, Asia, and a British Army post in France. “The American Medical Association sponsored what is generally considered the best of several comprehensive international studies of the pandemic conducted by Dr. Edwin Jordan, editor of The Journal of Infectious Disease. He spent years reviewing evidence from all over the world; the AMA published his work in 1927.” (Barry, 2004) After researching with all of his evidence he narrowed the source of the disease to be from Kansas. It was believed to come from a specific army camp in Kansas known as Fort Riley and then it eventually spread to different camps. “After five weeks, 1,127 soldiers at Fort Riley had been stricken with the Spanish flu; 46 of them had died.” (Rosenberg) In a short matter of time it made its way to cities across the country