Almanac

__**Spanish Influenza **__ Spanish Influenza is credited to be the most severe influenza outbreak of the 20th century, affecting every corner of the globe. Influenza is caused by a virus that is transmitted through people breathing. The primary flu weakened a body’s immune system significantly so that it could not protect itself against secondary bacterial infections. When infections inevitably occurred in the damaged lung tissue, pneumonia outbreaks were severe and often fatal, rapidly killing victims.

Often times, the disease was mild and self-limited. It spread unlike any other virus at the time, as most people were immunologically susceptible. A new disease, no one in the world had a build up of antibodies to fight the avian flu; very few people were immune to this. Bodies were not prepared for what was to come, and in fact, most cases developed in 25-40 year old men. This demographic is usually the most healthy and robust, and the immunologically weak, children, and elderly were expected to die first. To the world’s surprise, young adults were the primary target. Adults usually responded with inflammation in their respiratory systems. Lung tissue was destroyed microscopically and caused severe hemorrhaging. Ultimately, the degradation of the body’s immune system in the lower lungs increased the susceptibility of the body to other lethal bacterium. Preexisting or newly acquired colonizing strains of bacteria killed victims with damaged lower respiratory tracts.

However, cases of Spanish Flu were highly variable, and explanations about the origins of the disease are still aberrant. It is unclear how the first case was brought on, but scientists say that a soldier in Camp Funston (Kansas) must have been in contact with a disease carrying bird, contracted a human strain of the virus, and spread it among the men. Wartime travel began spreading and causing a deadly pandemic. Military personnel were the main targets of the disease due to the close proximity of living quarters.



While most cases ran a mild or self-limited course, over ⅕ of the population contracted this. Case fatalities were < 2% and the overall mortality rate was < 0.5%. Highly variable, in most affected populations, <5% of deaths occurred within 3 days of illness onset, with the median death time being 7-10 days. In special cases, some deaths occurred >2 weeks.

The swiftness of the spread of the disease was brought on by special events during that time period. WW1 was in its final weeks and soldiers on the front lines or stationed worldwide were sent home to various countries. In camps, soldiers were in contact with others who carried the virus but showed little to no symptoms. By the time all soldiers returned home, they spread the disease amonst their cities’ people. Celebrations often took place in honor of the victory, and often in large crowded gatherings, people were within close proximity. Thus, the disease spread rapidly. Inter-human contact was close as well in populated cities. When a large portion of the population had contracted the disease, the fatal symptoms began to appear and thus people were aware of what was going on.

While the method of spreading and prognosis of the disease fluctuated randomly, symptoms were consistent among victims. At first, normal flu symptoms of fever, nausea, aches, and diarrhea appeared. This did not cause discretion, making the disease less noticeable until more uneasy symptoms appeared. In most cases, victims would experience severe pneumonia attacks brought on by secondary bacterial infections. In that time, cyanosis or dark spots of pooled blood, would appear on the cheeks of patients who were suffocating from the lack of oxygen as their lungs failed to pass oxygen throughout the body. Dying victims coughed violently releasing frothy, bloody substances from their lungs, which meant certain death in almost all cases.

Spanish Flu killed the most people in the shortest amount of time. But when compared to other diseases, it was not the most deadly, or, virulent. The spread of the disease was aided by modern ships and a world war that frequently transported huge armies across the world. In history, extremely contagious disease include smallpox and measles, but they existed in a time where the transmission of the disease was not as easy. In Medieval Europe for example, the Black Death killed 20 million people in 2 years. However, the global population was much smaller, and cities, though populated, were not as dense as they were during 1918. In the 1400’s, transportation relied on wind and animal caravans. Considering the high death toll in Europe, Bubonic Plague was much deadlier in comparison to the Spanish Flu, though both virulent on their own.

Spanish Flu had the potential to be much deadlier and cause many more deaths if the strain of the virus had been more inherently virulent in a time without modern lifesaving technology. While most people made full recoveries, the total fatalities were high, which goes to show the sheer number of the world who were affected by the disease.