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    Influenza 1918.0910

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    Rafael
    The document summarizes the 1918 flu pandemic, noting that it began at Fort Riley, Kansas in soldiers, and rapidly spread around the world, killing over 25 million people. It describes the overwhelmed conditions at facilities like Camp Devens, with doctors and nurses unable to handle the large number of ill patients. The pandemic had a major global impact and helped scientists study and prepare for future outbreaks like the H1N1 virus.

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    Influenza 1918.0910

    Uploaded by

    Rafael
    23 views19 pages
    The document summarizes the 1918 flu pandemic, noting that it began at Fort Riley, Kansas in soldiers, and rapidly spread around the world, killing over 25 million people. It describes the overwhelmed conditions at facilities like Camp Devens, with doctors and nurses unable to handle the large number of ill patients. The pandemic had a major global impact and helped scientists study and prepare for future outbreaks like the H1N1 virus.

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    The document summarizes the 1918 flu pandemic, noting that it began at Fort Riley, Kansas in soldiers, and rapidly spread around the world, killing over 25 million people. It describes the overwhelmed conditions at facilities like Camp Devens, with doctors and nurses unable to handle the large number of ill patients. The pandemic had a major global impact and helped scientists study and prepare for future outbreaks like the H1N1 virus.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    23 views19 pages

    Influenza 1918.0910

    Uploaded by

    Rafael
    The document summarizes the 1918 flu pandemic, noting that it began at Fort Riley, Kansas in soldiers, and rapidly spread around the world, killing over 25 million people. It describes the overwhelmed conditions at facilities like Camp Devens, with doctors and nurses unable to handle the large number of ill patients. The pandemic had a major global impact and helped scientists study and prepare for future outbreaks like the H1N1 virus.

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    The Flu Epidemic of

    1918
    • The flu epidemic of 1918 ravaged
    World War I combatants and cut its
    deadly path across America and the
    world. Further, it was a significant
    event to build on for understanding and
    coping with the current outbreak of the
    H1 N1 (Swine) Flu.
    Where did the Influenza begin?
    • Fort Riley, Kansas, in March 1918
    • Soldiers were complaining of sore
    throat, headache, and fever.
    • By noon on the first day, the camp’s
    hospital dealt with 100 seriously ill
    soldiers.
    • At the week’s end, the number of ill
    soldiers jumped to 500!
    Cases at Fort Riley
    • Company cook Albert Gitchell reported to the camp
    hospital suffering from a “bad cold”.
    • Number of Red Cross nurses on hand very low (fell
    dramatically when soldiers started to fight in
    Europe).
    • Incidents at Fort Riley marked the fall of the first
    domino, signaling the full terror the flu virus would
    bring.
    July and August 1918
    • In July, public health officials in Philadelphia made a
    bulletin about the flu and identified the strain of virus
    and how the contagion would be fought.
    • The flu had already been named the Spanish Flu
    • On August 27th, sailors on the Receiving Ship at the
    Commonwealth Pier in Boston took ill. Many sick-bay
    symptoms were reported in the press.
    • On August 30th, 60 sailors on the one ship were sick.
    • Felt like they “…had been beaten all over with a club”
    Dr. Victor Vaughn and Camp Devens

    • In September, Dr. Vaughn, Surgeon General


    of the United States Army, had urgent orders
    to come to Camp Devens
    • On the first day after he arrived, 63 men died
    of influenza
    "I saw hundreds of young stalwart men in uniform coming into
    the wards of the hospital. Every bed was full, yet others crowded
    in. The faces wore a bluish cast; a cough brought up the
    blood-stained sputum. In the morning, the dead bodies
    are stacked about the morgue like cordwood."

    -Dr. Victor Vaughn


    Influenza Causes Global
    Suffering
    • Civilians suffered from “the perilous path that the
    flu would cut”.
    • Long arms of the flu extended beyond America &
    Europe to North Africa, India, China, Japan, New
    Zealand, and Philippines.
    • One physician recalls that flu patients “died
    struggling to clear their airways of a blood- tinged
    froth…until they suffocate” (Outbreak 5).
    • Flu Epidemic of 1918 cut short the lives of over 25
    million people.
    The Spread of the Influenza
    • .

                                          

                        
    Statistics
    • Everyone on the planet was at risk.
    • In Philadelphia, 158 out of every 1000
    people died.(Ex American Studies Class)
    • Death toll for America: 850,000.
    • In the end, estimates say about 25 million
    people died worldwide.
    Modern Day Connection
    • Researchers are learning more about the 1918
    Influenza in preparation for a global outbreak of the
    H1 N1 (Swine) Flu, which is already affecting our
    community. There was a link discovered between
    Spanish Flu and the Bird Flu of 2007, which helped
    doctors treat the 2007 outbreak.
    • One hopes the same progress will be made with H1
    N1.
    • Still a lot of work to be done, but with little time to
    do it.
    Course Theme
    • Natural and Social Environment- The
    conditions that the influenza brought
    affected the growth and development of
    America. Mortality rates increased, & the
    atmosphere the pandemic brought left deep
    scars in American history.

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