Rare Facts About The Spanish Flu Of 1918

What Happened During the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918?

Pandemics come and pandemics go, but none seem as terrifying as the Spanish flu of 1918 that killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people.With the negligence of governments to curb the spread of the virus by throwing super unnecessary parades, we today can learn a lot from our sickly past on what to do and what not to do with the sudden spreading of a deadly contagious disease.Today, we're looking at the brutal realities of the Spanish flu.

1) It Wiped Out 50% Of World Population -

The Spanish flu of 1918 took out an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1919,making this particular strand one hardcore flu season.In the United States alone, the 1918 Spanish flu took out half a million Americans, or five times as many who perished in World War I. Worldwide,the flu infected one third of the world's population, which in 1918 was 500 million people.If half a billion people were infected with the flu today,that would still be an insanely high number,and it's best not to think about it.

2) Youngsters Were The Target -

The Spanish flu skewed towards a younger crowd.This particularly nasty virus was unlike a typical modern flu, which generally has a higher impact on the elderly and immuno-compromised. This flu was taking out kids between the ages of 20 and 35,an age group that thinks they'll live forever,unless they have a selfie stick on a nearby cliff.In 2014, researchers determined the reason this particular virus was creeping on younger because the younger hosts were an easier place to crash.People born after the year 1889 had no exposure to anything resembling the chemical makeup of the 1918 flu strain, leaving them incredibly vulnerable.Those who were born prior to '89 likely had some exposure to a similar enough strain to gain some immunity to its 1918 hot young sister.

3) First Virus Was Recorded At Kansas -

There are many famous things from Kansas--the largest ball of twine, Barry Sanders, Danny Carey from Tool.But Kansas has the unfortunate distinction of being the first state in America to experience an outbreak.The Fort Riley army camp that,in 1918, housed 26,000 men,experienced Kansas's typical various weather conditions, cold as balls winters and hairdryers to the face hot summers,which are still common today.Adding to the Jayhawk life, soldiers stationed at Fort Riley were exposed to the customary burning of the animal manure, which permeated the air with a constant whiff of burning poop.On March 9th, 1918, a cook named Albert Glitchell reported to the infirmary for what he thought was a bad cold.By noon, the infirmary was filled to the brim with 100 sick soldiers seeking treatment for this new,mysterious bad cold.A total of 1,127 soldiers caught the virus that would ultimately take the life of 46 of them.The condition spread to other camps,but given that war was declared,the military kept a tight grip on the information.Besides, an outbreak of illness among a bunch of men closely quartered in less than ideal living conditions was hardly that unusual.

4) American Soldiers Helped It Reach Europe -

The Spanish flu was definitely not saying we aren't in Kansas anymore.In March of 1918, America shipped over 84,000 soldiers to join the fight in Europe,with an additional 118,000 joining their brothers in April to beef up the lines for the Allied powers.Unfortunately, they brought with them a deadly and highly contagious disease to fight alongside the additional troops.Army bases were hotbeds for viral spread.With men living in such quarters,containment was dang near impossible,and many American soldiers traveling overseas to fight in the war brought this mess along with them.Cases in the UK alone exploded with the western expansion.By June 1918, 31,000 cases were reported in the United Kingdom alone.The disease, like an Instagram influencer who won't shut up about it,traveled around the world,with cases popping up in Russia,India, North Africa, China,Japan, the Philippines,and New Zealand.

5) Spain Was The First To Announce The Epidemic -

Once it became clear this flu was not messing around and creating an astonishingly high mortality rate, Spain was the first country to openly report the epidemic.Other nations in the throes of the war opted to shield their citizens from the reality of the deadly virus by censoring the news so it didn't look too bad.They didn't want to damage public morale.Governments did lie to their citizens about the real numbers surrounding the deadly disease.Spain reported weekly on the latest outbreak news,hence why it was named the Spanish flu.They were the only country reporting on the realities of the flu.

6) Like Corona Virus The Second Wave Of Spanish Flu Was Much Fatal Than The First -

The first wave was bad.The second wave was far more deadly.By the end of the summer, people who hadn't caught the flu's first wave were strutting around like they owned the place.Look at them, all smug and cough-free and alive.Well, the joke was soon on them.In September, more cases popped up, this time in a Boston naval facility.And soon, much like the song Despacito in the summer of 2017,the flu was inescapable.In October of 1918,the United States alone lost 195,000 people.The second influx of the virus was five times deadlier than the first wave.The lucky few who escaped the first wave were much more susceptible to contracting and dying from it than if they had contracted it just a few months earlier.It's always good to get ahead of the trend.

7) The Affected Turned Blue And Bleeded Internally -

The Spanish flu sounds pretty awful.It started with symptoms typical of any flu- fatigue, fever,and headache, but way more intense and severe.Then the cough came,and it was so severe it would tear abdominal muscles.And that's what would get you.Victims showed signs of internal bleeding around the lungs.People's skin would turn blue.And not in a cool,Avatar sort of way.People remained blue, and their original skin color became unidentifiable.After that, respiratory distress would lead to pneumonia,and pneumonia would lead to death.All of this snowballed out of control within hours after symptoms first appeared.People could wake up feeling perfectly healthy and be gone by the end of the day, which begs the question,why would anyone leave their house in 1918?

8) Buried In Mass Grave -

With the body count increasing, there was no time for the bells and whistles customary for a funeral.This was much more of a throw them in a pile and worry about it later kind of vibe in 1918.It was impossible to keep up on the numbers.Coffins couldn't be made fast enough.And rather than have morgues filled to the brim with decaying loved ones, increasing the likelihood of secondary infections,cities and towns opted for good old-fashioned mass graves.One of these mass graves was discovered in Pennsylvania in 2015 in a town about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.The graves were uncovered after a heavy rain washed away the topsoil.Probably a fun sight for one lucky Philadelphian who noticed the human bones sticking up out of the ground.

9) Carelessness Led Philadelphia For Highest Rate Of Sickness And Death -

Well, look, Philadelphia doesn't come across super great here.But in their defense,when do they?They threw snowball at Santa Claus.City officials, aware of a second wave of the deadly and highly contagious disease spreading in close enough Boston,did not react as one would hope a town might in an incoming mass casualty health emergency.Officials didn't even bother to issue a bulletin or have it listed as a reportable disease.They took a real loose approach to the whole thing.And it backfired.In late September, the public was under the impression the disease was contained to just military personnel,with the director of the Phillips Institute of Philadelphia falsely announcing they had found the cause of the influenza. Philadelphians felt so confident in their city's cleanliness and safety that they threw a parade.Over 200,000 people gathered to support the war effort via a parade.Days after the everything's going great parade,cases spiked in the city.Soon, the city would shutdown churches, schools,and theaters.But the damage was already done.75% of the city's medical personnel were occupied with the war.Hospitals were crushed.Overcrowding was so bad,churches and state armories became make shift pop-up hospitals.The body count was piling up literally so high they didn't know what to do with the piles of bodies.People were getting paid $15 a body to bury the dead, which adjusted for inflation is about $260.Not that much cash, and not a place to really build a career.By November 1918,the disease had taken 13,000 souls in Philly alone.

10) Spitting And Coughing Were Banned At Public Places -

The people were told to wash their hands and cover their coughs.But beyond washing your hands and covering your mouth when you sneeze and cough,a thing people still need to be told to do today,specifically in all Targets,people were also not allowed to spit in public, so much so that if they got a spitting, that'd be a pittance.Fines were given out to people who spit in public at $1 a spit.That's a $20 loogie when adjusted for inflation.

11) Medical Community Were Unable To Find The Roots Of The Flu -

The Spanish flu of 1918 hit the world hard.Years before the invention of penicillin or even the concept of a virus was discovered,and long before the internet,which makes everyone an expert,it was thought that the flu was caused by bacteria, which meant any treatment for it greatly missed the mark.It wasn't until 1933 that it became clear that this was a viral infection.And a vaccine for the disease popped up five years later,in 1938.However, between the various unpredictable strains and mutations, it's impossible to create a universal vaccine,like there is for measles,and every year the flu shot is a real crap shoot as to whether or not it will be effective.Every flu since 1918 has been a genetically mutated version of the deadliest out breakin modern history.

So every flu is just a punk ass descendant of that OG ,the Spanish flu.So what do you think?Do you feel good about your survival rate in the case of a pandemic?Let us know in the comments below.And while you're at it, checkout some of these other blog from our Rare Factx.

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