The influenza epidemic of 1918-19 is still the worst worldwide pandemic to paralyze the human population. In one year an estimated 20-40 million lives were extinguished. And doctors and scientists still don't fully understand why. Nicknamed the Spanish flu, because of an early outbreak in Spain, this particular strain that took the world by storm, is thought to have its origins traced to China were the virus mutated in a way that was never seen before in humans. Scientists are still studying the viral strain that caused the 1918 epidemic trying to figure out what might have caused the virus to mutate. Some scientists think that the viral strain that strickened the entire world in 1918 is the same strain, H1N1, better known as Swine Flu, that is afflicting the world right now.
There are many causes as to why the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak did indeed become a pandemic. Ignorance, worldwide politics and lack of education all played a part in the spread of the disease that at its height infected one fifth of the world's population. There was a light influenza outbreak in the spring of 1918 that was regarded by public health officials as a nuisance and was thought just to be a late outbreak for that season. Then in late summer, 1918, the virus infected Spain and caused an enormous amount of mortality's. Many US soldiers fighting overseas fell ill with the virus. Some did not make it home. The virus quickly spread from Europe to the US by shipping routes. No one yet realized what was happening.
Boston was the first US city to become infected with the new strain of influenza. In September 1918 the virus made its first appearance in the city and it spread rapidly. No measures were taken by the public health department to quarantine the sick or network with other health departments around the country. Officials assumed it was a localized outbreak of the influenza virus that was commonly seen every year in the US. It was only after people started to fall ill in other cities that the government began to take notice.
One of the first clues doctors and health officials had in determining that this outbreak wasn't the normal viral outbreak of influenza was the high mortality rate in people who became infected. The mortality rate for the Spanish influenza victims was 2.5% compared to the normal .1% in past years. Doctors also reported that patients suffering from Spanish influenza would exhibit symptoms instantly; one minute they were perfectly healthy, the next minute they had fallen deathly ill. Doctors also reported that victims would often die within hours of becoming ill, developing a severe case of pneumonia that eventually caused suffocation.
The characteristics of Spanish influenza itself, helped to spread the virus. Infected persons, not knowing that they were carriers, who walked about cities, among a healthy population would unknowingly spread the virus. Further spread of the disease was caused by lack of education. This was a time when the general population didn't know the difference between the common cold and the flu. Many sick persons assumed they had the common cold and mingled in populous areas. And by self diagnosing one's self as having a common cold, many cases of influenza went unreported further delaying government action.
The spread of the influenza outbreak also was fueled by world politics. Many people were out and about in the fall and winter of 1918-19. Patriotism found itself at an all time high as the war was winding down. People flocked to rallies to show their support for the US troops and the war. Many hundreds, even thousands of people attended rallies in close quarters coughing, sneezing and touching one another.
It was for this reason that the influenza virus spread more quickly in urban areas. People often lived together in overcrowded, dirty conditions. Immigrants who so often lived in urban areas had a hard time communicating with American doctors due to a language barrier, so their illness either was misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, as many immigrants didn't visit a doctor at all.
Although the government knew that they were fighting a pandemic, they were almost paralyzed in their lackluster fight. The US government wasn't equipped to handle an epidemic of such proportions. They had no disaster plan, and due to lack of networking among health officials when the virus was first discovered, the virus was too widespread to warn of its presence. Government officials tried to educate the population as best they could, and to quarantine the sick. Gauze masks were passed out in hopes of stopping the spread of the virus but the stage had already been set for a global disaster.
Twenty eight percent of Americans were infected with the Spanish flu at its peak, the highest mortality rates occurred in 20-29 year olds. Although the flu also hit Europe, mortality rates were a lot lower because they were better prepared to handle such an outbreak from its onset. The 1918-19 flu pandemic caused sweeping changes to come over the American health care system and forced the government to put emergency plans in place so that history may not repeat itself.