Flu: The Story
of the Great Influenza
Pandemic of 1918
and the Search for
the Virus That Caused It
by Gina Kolata
Posted on 09/09/2018 9:42:57 AM PDT by NRx
My mother’s father died from Spanish flu November 6, 1918.
An estimated third of the world population (at that time) was infected by this flu. That’s a lot of people. Can you imagine having so many incapacitated ? It certainly created manpower issues among every field of work.
“The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans.”
The History Channel
Or developed by the US and tested on soldiers, where it turned out to be much more effective than anticipated.
It isn't like the US military hasn't done similar things since.
My dear mother actually survived it. But she told stories that curled our hair to this day...
My late grandparents (Dad’s side) were young children when the Spanish Flu hit. I have no idea whether or not either of them contracted it.
Thank you for this post. It was a well written article with facts and personal stories as well.
I didn’t realize the ‘Spanish Flu’ was a bird flu. It was interesting to read the theories involved on how it may have started and the reasons why sone were more susceptible than others.
Please add me to your BOYD ping list.
They didn’t have anything like today, to give to my grandfather. He/they died from that flu by choking to death on their own fluids. Penecillin was not invented yet and there was nothing to fight that kind of flu.
My grandmother had it also, but the dr gave her something (she did not know what it was) different and she lived. She was the frail one and grandfather was the strong strapping farmer. She said it seemed to take the strong ones. They both were in the same house, seperate rooms and his funeral was delayed due to people wanting to stay away from anyone who had it. She, being sick also, could not be with him as/when he died. A cousin stayed with him.. was not afraid.. and I revered that cousin all my life.. he was that kind of man!
As I raised my kids, drs were reluctant to give penecillin and that type antibiotics unless they had to.. so they would not grow immune to such drugs when needed later. You are right, we do not have enough if such an epidemic hit.
Flu: The Story
of the Great Influenza
Pandemic of 1918
and the Search for
the Virus That Caused It
by Gina Kolata
Yeah, the FBI screening isn’t very thorough these days.
Given today’s media, they would hide it and the FANG companies would delete the social media posts and e-mail about it passing through their servers.
/sarc
“These were rural communities without many travelers or people passing through. “
My grandfather was born in 1898 20 miles outside Ida Bell Oklahoma, near the Texas border in hill country. He said all he knew of this flu was what he read in the weekly paper he was able to buy from OK City.
That weekly paper was carried by the trading post, post office and general store in Ida Bell. About 50 yards from the rail dock.
And 300 miles from nowhere.
Imagine...getting your news of the nation and the world by the week. And only what the editor wanted to include.
The first commercial radio broadcasts were in late 1920, covered 100+ mile radius at best...but almost nobody had a radio. And most still did not have electricity.
Of the man born and raised in that environment I have fond memories. Sitting on his knee, fishing...my first sip of whiskey. And the requirement of bacon and biskets every morning.
Done. Welcome aboard!
While in the hospital in France he got hit with the flu.
Recovered from both only to die of pneumonia 20 yrs later.
You dont need to “see” to transfer diseases among sick people and animals. You simply find then incubate the disease that seems most devastating and then release via spies in mess halls, etc.
Just like dogs were successfully bred centuries before we had any understanding of genetics
True, but even though there may have been no direct knowledge of viruses, there were those prior to WWI who made observations of their effects, identified vectors, and were able to, in some ways, manage their spread i.e., Edward Jenner and Walter Reed, to name but two.
Do I think the 1918 flu was a bioweapon gone wrong? Not particularly, but I would not rule it out simply because the electron microscope had not yet been invented. It is known that the German government did experiments with demonizing anthrax during the war years...
The last part of what you said about immunity to penicillin, it wasn’t you becoming immune to penicillin that the Doc was worried about, it was the bug becoming immune that scared him.
When I was a kid for some reason I was always coming down with toncillitis, ear infections, and respiratory infections.
My mother asked the Doctor to give me penicillin, the Doc told her no; when my mother asked him why not, he responded that as long as the SULFA was doing the necessary job it was best to save the GOOD STUFF for when it was really needed.
Old Doctor Snook was only about 50 years ahead of his time when it came to being concerned about drug resistant bacteria cropping up.
When it came to smarts and good medical practice, DOCTOR SNOOK didn’t just practice, he was a professional.
For an old time railroad doctor and epidemiologist, he would have made these modern doctors look more like cave dwelling witch doctors.
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