The Influenza Epidemic of 1918

Lucy Lastovic

February 18, 2015

Mrs. Lawson- H Block

Research Essay

                                                         Influenza Pandemic of 1918

Every year during the fall, people go to get their annual flu shot to protect themselves from the contagious virus. While many people get infected by influenza, it results in common cold symptoms like sore throat, chills, body aches, sore throat, and fever. However, in 1918-1919, influenza took the world by storm. All over the world, people were becoming infected by this unknown virus. No one knew where it was coming from, how it was being spread, or even what is was for that matter. Later, they would learn that the soldiers fighting in WWI were carrying this virus with them wherever they went. In this essay, I will discuss how this pandemic unfolded, the impact it had on the United States, what strategies the government took for fighting this disease, and how the army was affected by this silent killer.

The influenza pandemic was not one outbreak which lasted for over a year. It was, however, three different waves of the influenza virus, each one more virulent and deadlier than the last. The first wave occurred when a mild strand of influenza broke out in the late spring and summer of 1918. The second wave consisted of an outbreak of severe influenza in the fall of 1918. Lastly, the third wave erupted in the spring of 1919 with the most deadly and contagious strand of influenza than those before it. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ) In a study done by Captain Alan M. Chesney, a medical officer with the AEF in France during WWI, he discovered and documented the "evolution of a more virulent influenza". In his first documented phase, he analyzed the 5th artillery brigade during the time period of June-July 27th. He recorded that there were only 77 "mild cases" of the influenza virus. During his second phase, he followed the 58th artillery brigade from July 27th to August 23rd, and recorded that 200 of the soldiers became ill. Lastly during his third phase, he followed the 6th artillery brigade from August 23rd to November 8th. 1,636 soldiers, which was more than 1/3 of the brigade, contracted influenza and 151 soldiers died.   At the end of his study, Chesney reported, "the frequent changes in the population of the post, brought by the short stay of each brigade, exercised considerable influence upon the course of the epidemic of influenza."(U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic) That being said, one can see how the influenza virus erupted during three different time frames and coming back deadlier than it was before.

Twenty to forty million people were killed by the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Just to get a mental picture of how many people died in this pandemic, more people died from influenza in ONE year than in FOUR years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague. ( Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) In the United States alone, it infected over twenty-five percent of the entire population. In just that one year, the United States average life expectancy dropped by an astounding 12 years.
(National Archives and Records Administration) It is clear that the most obvious impact the United States faced was the dramatic decrease in population. Around 675,000 Americans died from the influenza outbreak. Calculating just the soldiers of the United States, half of the soldiers who died in Europe died from the hands of influenza, not the enemy.( Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic) The United States lost soldiers, doctors, nurses, servicemen, and citizens all from this virus, so of course we must look at what America did to fight this killer virus.

On September 27th, 1918, influenza officially became a reportable disease. However by that time, the second wave of influenza had already begun. The government sent as many medically trained personnel over to Europe and American camps to aid to the soldiers as best they can. There just weren't enough doctors and nurses to aid to the thousands and thousands of soldiers infected and dying from the flu. When the PHS was able to send more medical aid, they often became ill en route to the camps or when they arrived. For those who got there healthy and uninfected, found themselves unprepared and under-staffed for the task in front of them. In October, Congress gave one million dollars to the PHS, which enabled them to recruit and pay for more medical personnel. (United States Department of Health and Human Services) In a Directive from the Division of Sanitation, they stated many guidelines or rules for people to follow in order to protect citizens from getting infected or spreading the virus. Basically, it stated to stay away from crowded and public places, stay healthy and rested, and stay away from anyone who was coughing or sneezing. Seeing as there was no vaccination or antibiotic to kill the virus, the best the government could do was head warning to the public and send doctors and nurses to help those infected.

What better way to spread a highly contagious virus than to send infected soldiers all over the world with it? Influenza traveled with military personnel from camp to camp, trench to trench, and country to country. In September through November 1918, during the peak of American military involvement, influenza and pneumonia infected over 20-40% of the United States Army and Navy. With all of these casualties, if affected the amount of available soldiers, the induction and training schedules, and it rendered thousands of military personnel non-effective. The War department counted that influenza sickened 26% of the Army, which is over one million men. It also killed 30,000 men before they even reached France. In the Navy, they recorded that out of 600,000 men, there were 5,027 deaths and more than 106,000 soldiers were admitted to the hospital. WWI fostered this diseases by creating conditions in the trenches of France that some epidemiologists believe enabled the flu to evolve into a  world-wide killer. Disease shaped WWI by rendering a majority of the Army and Navy non-effective, and diverting resources and personnel from the military campaign. The military was the biggest factor of this pandemic because not only did it kill and infect a majority of the soldiers, they were unknowingly carrying this lethal killer with them all over the world. (U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic)

The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 claimed the lives of millions of people. A now particularly harmless virus was once the silent killer of the 1900's. While many people speculate as to what the origin of influenza is, historical and epidemiologic data have been determined inadequate in identifying the geographic origin of the virus. However, one strong possibility is that it developed somewhere in Asia, seeing as before and after the Pandemic of 1918, most influenza pandemics began in Asia and the spread to the rest of the world. (Origin of Influenza) While there were many casualties in WWI, the United States had relatively fewer casualties than other countries- 112,000 dead. Half of these deaths were from influenza, not the enemy. (American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition) Since the influenza pandemic, America has restored its population and found a vaccine and antibiotic to fight against influenza. The world will be prepared if there was ever another Influenza Pandemic, because now we have the tools and manpower to kill it before it kills us.

Army Influenza Ward, Luxembourg, 1918

Infirmary Treating Those Infected by Influenza

Nurse During the Influenza Pandemic 

Letter Carrier in New York during 1918

Directive from Washington, D.C., regarding treatment and procedures

Sources:

United States Department of Health and Human Services This source provided lots of dates which mapped out a "timeline" to see what happened when. It talked about the different waves that the flu traveled in. It also mentions how the pandemic unfolded, how the US was mobilized to fight influenza, communications, and lastly the fading of the pandemic.
National Archives and Records Administration This source provided a brief background on the Pandemic but mostly provided statistical data. However, this source had links to numerous primary sources including personal letters, journals, newspaper articles, pictures, government directives, and more from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
U.S. Military:Influenza Pandemic This source focused specifically on how the influenza pandemic impacted the Army and Navy. It talked about the three different waves in which influenza occurred and how the war fostered influenza in the crowded conditions of military camps in the U.S. and European trenches.
Stanford: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic This source provided a lot of statistical data in regards to the casualties resulting from the flu, decrease in life span, and how many people were infected by this virus,
Directive from Division of Sanitation Being an actual directive from Washington D.C and written by the Division of Sanitation in 1918, this was by far the best source. It provided me with what knowledge they knew about influenza and what strategies they were taking in order to protect the citizens.
American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition This source contained the least amount of data out of all of my sources, seeing as the text only mentioned the casualties caused by the flu. There was no other data about influenza in regards to how it impacted the U.S. or how it was spread.
Origin of Influenza In this source, I was able to find information concerning the origin of the influenza outbreak. While there is speculation of Europe, Asia, America, or even China, there is no way, as of today, of discovering where this pandemic evolved.