orLer 1

Dana Porter
Ms. Caruso
ENGL 1103
13 January 2012
No Ordinary Plague
The Spanish Flu of 1918 may have only lasted a year but its impact was felt much longer.
This plague killed more people than World War I, and challenged the boundaries of twentieth
century medicine (Killingray, 2003). Various people had to live with it from concerned mothers
and fathers to the doctors and nurses that fought to make it go away. North America, Germany,
Spain, South Africa and other countries were scrambling to cope with the hysteria. The only
thing that this plague left behind was a high mortality rate, no real knowledge of the thing itself
or what to do if it were to reoccur. This event prompted the attention of the world to study
influenza to try and get a better understanding of it.
The Spanish influenza started in June 1918 and ended December 1920. Between 50 and
100 million people died from the plague, mostly being young adults with strong immune systems
that were attacked (Wikipedia, 2004). There are many theories of the flus origin that span from
Kansas to Austria and the Far East. Although the true origin is still unknown its called the
Spanish Flu because it was highly publicized in that country. Other countries enacted media
blackouts because of World War I. Close contact with others spread the disease faster and the
countries involved didnt want to lower morale by educating the public about the pandemic.
Spain, being neutral in the war, had nothing to lose.
The increase in travel attributed to the number of worldwide cases. About a third of the
world as a whole was affected. There was a more deadly second wave of this flu that attacked the
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U.S. and France with its mutated form.
1
The influenza mutated because of the new way in which
the disease was being carried around. Those who were suffering from severe cases often stayed
at home to rest while those with mild cases went off to work. On the other hand soldiers fighting
in the war who had severe cases were sent back home while the milder cases stayed and fought
(Wikipedia, 2004). Therefore there are now a bunch of mild cases out interacting and also the
more severe cases of soldiers all trying to get back home interacting, which caused the flu to
change.
2
This flu was very unique; most of the deaths were young adults with strong immune
systems. The elderly and young children had a lower mortality rate which is very odd. Most of
the deaths were due to something called cytokine storm, or an overreaction of the immune
system, which would account for the deaths of the young adults with strong immune systems that
would really try and fight the disease.
3
Also, it was more prevalent in the summer and fall
seasons, influenzas are usually worse in the winter. Some of the symptoms included high fever,
coughing, body aches, muscle and joint pain, headache, sore throat, delirium, shortness of breath,
and hemorrhaging (Kolawole, 2010)
4
. The Spanish Flu is sometimes overlooked because of its
timing in history. The flu came along at the same time as the First World War. The deaths from
the plague are commonly looked at as an addition to the hardships of war.
The most interesting part of researching a topic is seeing the event from the eyes of
regular people who lived during that time. Peoples stories, thoughts, and theories about the
event are always good to know. When the plague struck in South Africa people had all kinds of
ideas about why it happened, most of which were those of religious outlooks on the cause. It was
one thought of popular and religious belief that God sent the plague as punishment. It was also a
belief that God played a less direct role and that it was human mistakes and neglect of society
that brought it along. Some non-religious theories said it was biological warfare, the doing of
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some other country and that it originated on the Western Front (Phillips, 1990). Another way of
getting a perspective of those who have actually seen the plague is looking at modern day
interviews. People who are interviewed tell stories about the plague from the eyes of a young
child. A 98 year old woman was interviewed and told about the day she got the flu after doing
chores. She says she got sick after putting wood in the living room and kitchen stoves. Another
elderly woman says her mom was pregnant with the flu and did her best to protect her from
getting it as well and did not let her around any of the other kids in the neighborhood. "My
mother wouldn't let us play with anybody, said Savage, now 101.
5
It was for the same reason
she wouldn't let the children look in on the neighbor boy who lived with them: fear that they
would fall ill (Stafford, 2006). She says that it must have worked though because she never got
it. It was encouraging to hear the stories of how neighborhoods really looked after each other and
how people had to go on with their lives and living with this disease. Even though this horrible
thing was happening that didnt change that they had obligations. People still looked after their
cows and chickens, prime the pump, and handle coal and oil. Husbands and fathers would get
sick and wouldnt ever be the same, leaving a burden on wife and kids to take care of home,
property, and income. These stories are from such a unique stand point, the memories of 98+
year olds but the eyes of children.
During this time there was a lot of pressure put on the medical field. Doctors and nurses
were in very high demand. The need for nurses was so desperate that there were advertisements
put up asking for people with any kind of nursing experience to come forward and help.
Although there were a number of nurses sent overseas to aid in the war, we also needed them
back home helping to fight the influenza. These nurses witnessed the worst cases of hysteria
among people suffering from the disease and had to be a source of emotional support for their
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patients. Nurses formed panels and came up with ideas to educate the public about the influenza.
Some nurses would go out to schools in the community and tell teachers what to look for in
children, some of the symptoms they should be aware of and if they saw these symptoms to
report them. The board of health in Philadelphia even went as far as enacting a public campaign
against coughing, sneezing, and spitting. They also made citizens wear gauze masks in public.
"Obey the laws and wear the gauze protect your jaws from septic paws." (Armstrong 1999). But
without a cure there was very little the nurses could do but ease the symptoms and be a source of
hope.
6
A teenage volunteer talks about being there for the suffering: "We tried to be as nice to
them as we could and just be with them when they died"(Kolawole, 2010). Hearing a statement
like this one is very sad but it was reality.
The decline of the Spanish Influenza was due to the ability of doctors to treat and prevent
the symptoms of the pneumonia. Also, pathogenic viruses such as this one are less lethal
overtime which explains why the flu mutated and formed a far less severe strain. As for the
source of the pandemic, we can only hypothesize. Some theories say that when viruses infected
swine and poultry that were bred for food in Fort Riley, Kansas those viruses spread when the
soldiers were sent around the world. Since the 1918 influenza outbreak, scientists have been
doing studies to better understand the pandemic. There have even been experiments that try and
genetically recreate it.
7
This influenza was abrupt and devastating, taking many lives and
changing the way the medical field and the public operated long after it occurred. Knowing very
little about the origin of the Spanish Flu the best we can do now is to continue research and pray
that it doesnt break out again.


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-Ns. C
orLer 3

Works Cited



Spanish Flu Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004.
Web. 10 Aug. 2004


Phillips, H. Black October: the impact of the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 on South
Africa. Govt. Printer, 1990

American Historical Review; Apr2005, Vol 110 Issue 2, p446-447, 2p The Spanish Influenza
Pandemic of 1918-19: New Perspectives. (Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine,
num.12)

Stafford, Tom Staff W. Life in the time of Spanish influenza; The Nov. 13 Community News
described the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 through newspaper accounts. Today, residents
of Oakwood Village and Eaglewood Village add their childhood recollections. Springfield News-
Sun (OH) [serial online]. December 18, 2006:Available from: NewsBank, Ipswich, MA.
Accessed February 14, 2012.


Kolawole, Bukola. "Nursing And The 1918/1919 Spanish Influenza Pandemic." Journal Of
Community Nursing 24.6 (2010): 30. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.


Armstrong, James F. Philadelphia, Nurses, and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918. RN,
BSN, CCRN






1
The main conflict in my movie is going to be this idea of a mutated strain. In my story though, this mutation will
be much more dramatic with horrific affects.
2
Knowing how the influenza mutated is a key idea that needs to be understood and illustrated in order for my final
project to be successful. This information will help me paint a picture for the audience and ease them into
understanding how the influenza gets from one point to the extreme state that it ends up in.
3
Its important to note the age of the people being affected. I can use this to show an entire generation whose life
was altered due to the Spanish Flu.
4
The symptoms are significant for obvious reasons. If want to make a movie showing the spreading of this disease
there needs to be a change occurring in the people suffering and once the symptoms are made known I can show that
someone has contracted the influenza without coming out right and saying so.
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orLer 6


5
Accounts like these help to get an idea of how people were during that time. Stories coming directly from someone
living in that time will really help out with forming my characters. Things they did, how they spoke, what they
thought about what was happening, these things are going to be helpful.
6
This is another point of view that will be really helpful in the story. Doctors and nurses are important to the
progression or end of the pandemic. People want to know if there is a cure, if there will be one, why its so bad, and
when it will be over, and they look to the medical world for answers.
7
I thought this was very interesting when I first read it mainly because of how potentially dangerous recreating a
lethal disease can be. Ill probably use this for cinematic conflict and have a flash forward shown where there is a
recreation gone wrong and end with a not so happy ending.